Allgemein » Ladies European Tour event, Park birdied the final thr

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - LeVeon Bell spent four months helping the Pittsburgh Steelers return to the top of the AFC North and four painful quarters watching helplessly as it all came undone.Sure, there were pangs of what if for the second-year running back and team MVP as the season came to a decisive end with a 30-17 loss to Baltimore in the wild-card round last Saturday. Yet while Bell believes his hyperextended right knee would have been good enough to go this weekend if the Steelers had advanced, hell have to settle for a trip to the Pro Bowl and the growing confidence that deeper playoff runs are coming for a team in the midst of an identity shift.For the longest, the Steelers have only been known for defence, Bell said. This is the first year really the offence has really talked about being a dynamic offence and having playmakers all over the field. We love that. Were definitely going to get better.On paper and on the field. Bell set a franchise record for yards from scrimmage, wide receiver Antonio Brown put together the second-highest single-season reception total in NFL history (129) and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger tied Drew Brees for the league lead in yards passing. Pittsburgh finished as the NFLs second-ranked offence and smashed the team mark for points in a season.Yet out of all those gaudy numbers, the most important ones might be their ages.Bell is 22. Brown is 26. Rookie Martavis Bryant — who caught nine touchdown passes in 11 games — is 23. All five starters on the offensive line are in their 20s. And while Roethlisberger turns 33 in March, he shows no signs of slowing down.The skys the limit, Bryant said when asked about his potential. He might as well have been talking about the other guys in the huddle too.The sometimes gaudy production came after two painful seasons of restructuring as the offence adjusted to Todd Haleys diverse scheme, Brown developed into one of the NFLs best players and Bell morphed from raw rookie into one of the most versatile weapons in the league. Finding the right chemistry took time and patience. Its a process the Steelers now find themselves making on the other side of the ball.The transition will likely finally begin in earnest during the off-season. Defensive end Brett Keisels torn triceps likely means his career is over. Cornerback Ike Taylor will be 35 in May and missed most of the year with forearm and shoulder injuries. Safety Troy Polamalu was slowed by knee issues over the second half of the season and is hardly talking like a guy who plans on spending a 13th fall playing his own unique brand of football.Time will tell, Polamalu said when asked whether hes going to return.Oddly, perhaps the most likely candidate to return next season is somebody who began 2014 retired. Linebacker James Harrison needed a solid month to get into shape after re-signing with the Steelers in mid-September but at times looked every bit like the player who was among the NFLs most feared defenders in his prime. The 36-year-old finished third on the team with 5.5 sacks despite playing in just 10 games.Harrison stressed when he initially came back this would be his last ride. Now he doesnt sound so sure.The first few weeks it was a feeling of my body couldnt take this, it couldnt handle this, Harrison said. Over the course first 3-4 weeks, my body adjusted, started to feel a lot better. ... I dont feel nowhere near (as badly as) I thought I would feel.Whether Harrison dons his No. 92 jersey again, however, the torch is all but officially passed. For Pittsburgh to return to the leagues elite, the defence doesnt need to be dominant, though it wouldnt hurt. Either way, it is time for the likes of linebackers Jarvis Jones, Sean Spence, Ryan Shazier and safety Shamarko Thomas — all 25 or under, all expected to be leaders of the next wave — to begin the process of building a legacy of their own.I think a lot of younger guys took a lot of big steps this year, defensive end Cam Heyward said. We have to continue to make steps if we want to make the ultimate goal.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Brian Urlacher Bears Jersey .com) - The Dallas Mavericks had a five-game winning streak snapped last time out, but theyll try to get back into the winners circle Sunday evening when the Milwaukee Bucks pay a visit to American Airlines Center. Roquan Smith Jersey .S. - Nova Scotias Mary Fay guaranteed at least one more match and a shot at the Canadian junior curling championships final on home ice. http://www.bearsfootballpro.com/Authentic_Walter-Payton_Bears_Jersey/ . -- LeGarrette Blount wasnt satisfied with three short touchdown runs, not against a team coming off the second greatest comeback in playoff history. Roquan Smith Youth Jersey . -- The Seattle Seahawks and wide receiver Sidney Rice have agreed to terms on a deal. Riley Ridley Womens Jersey . Nick Holden scored two goals and had an assist and the Avalanche held off the Nashville Predators 5-4 Saturday night for their fourth straight victory. PHOENIX -- Morgan Pressel had a befitting start at Wildfire Golf Club. She was 6 under after six holes, then 9 under through 11. Golfs magic number of 59 -- accomplished only on the LPGA Tour by Annika Sorenstam in 2001 at nearby Moon Valley -- was in range and word spread quickly Thursday at the JTBC Founders Cup. "Wow. Go Morgan," friend Natalie Gulbis tweeted. "I dont know if I was necessarily thinking 59, but I probably just got a little bit excited, because I had never been that many under par in that short of a span," Pressel said. "I just got a little bit quick and came back to earth." She did, bogeying the next two holes and closing with five pars for a 7-under 65 that left her a stroke behind first-round leader Mirim Lee. After birdieing Nos. 1 and 2 -- her 10th and 11th holes -- to reach 9 under, Pressel pulled her drive left on the par-4 third. Her ball lodged at the base of a short bush, with the bulk of the branches between the right-hander and the ball. There were burrowing animal holes near the ball, but they didnt interfere with a possible swing or stance. "I could have hit it left-handed and there were a couple of burrowing animal holes around," Pressel said. "I brought them (rules officials) over to ask, but I didnt honestly think that I was going to get relief and I dont think that I deserved it." Pressel took an unplayable lie and missed the green to the right, chipped to 7 feet and made the putt to save bogey. She also dropped a stroke on the par-3 fourth, missing a 15-footer after hitting another iron to the right. "It wasnt the finish that I would have hoped for, but it gives me a little bit of confidence knowing how many birdies I can make and Im capable of," she said. Pressel birdied the first four holes and made a 50-footer for eagle on the par-5 15th. She also birdied the par-3 17th and made the turn in 7-under 29. "I dont know that Ive ever gotten off to that hot of a start," Pressel said. A tour regular since she was 17, the 25-year-old Pressel won the 2007 Kraft Nabisco to become the youngest womens major champion.dddddddddddd She also won the 2008 Kapalua LPGA. "I definitely feel like I have the ability to win again," Pressel said. Lee also started on No. 10 and nearly matched Pressels start, playing her opening nine in 6-under 30. She had three birdies and a bogey on the front side for a 64. "Everything was good," said Lee, making her third LPGA Tour start. Defending champion Stacy Lewis, top-ranked Inbee Park and Michelle Wie were two strokes back at 66 along with 2011 winner Karrie Webb, Eun-Hee Ji, Catriona Matthew, Gerina Piller and Pernilla Lindberg. "A lot of tee shots set up well for me," Lewis said. "They fit my eye." Coming off a victory two weeks ago in China in a Ladies European Tour event, Park birdied the final three holes. She closed with a tap-in birdie on the par-4 ninth after nearly holing a full pitching wedge. "It was a very solid round," Park said. "Very good irons." Wie eagled the par-5 fifth. "I hit 3-wood, 5-iron over the green and then chipped in," Wie said. Sixteen-year-old Lydia Ko had a 67. Playing alongside Park, Ko closed with a bogey after driving left into the desert. "I forgot to bring my food and my protein bars," Ko said. "Thats my excuse." DIVOTS: Paula Creamer, a playoff winner three weeks ago in Singapore in the last LPGA Tour event, shot 70. She had a double bogey on the par-4 eighth, her 17th hole. ... Cheyenne Woods, Tiger Woods niece, had a 71. The Phoenix player won the LETs Australian Ladies Masters last month. ... The Semper Fi Fund said The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation will match Cristie Kerrs tour earnings this year to help injured and critically ill service members and their families. She shot 73. ... The scoring average was 70.863. The Arnold Palmer-designed front nine played to an average of 35.917 and the Nick Faldo-designed back nine to an average of 34.946. ' ' '