Dein erstes Forum » first half with our transition defense.

Rory McIlroy is on the brink of bringing his 15-month winless run to a close, says Rob Lee. McIlroy missed out on the Honda Classic as Russell Henley secured victory in a four-man play-off, the Northern Irishman paying the price after shooting a four-over-par final round in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.The 24-year-old began the day two shots clear of his American rival but unravelled before striking a sensational approach to the 18th hole that gave him a shot at the title he couldnt take. McIlroy subsequently admitted that he didnt deserve to win the tournament and Lee commended him for speaking so honestly.World-class plusYouve got to love Rory for telling it how it is - theres no covering up or clouding over the issues and he feels that he didnt play the golf in the final round that he would have liked to have played.Having said that, it really does boil down to just one shot: the one he made his mistake on was his second to 16 from the left-hand fairway bunker. He tried to hit a quite fancy six iron draw shot when the squeeze left to right would have been better.But he went with the flair six iron and found the water. It was bad decision making. He got himself out of position in the tournament but then his second shot into the 18th was fantastic - he had a little peninsular of green to aim at and it was unhittable.But he hit a fairway wood into there to give him a chance for the eagle and the win; the shot he hit was world-class plus given the pressure he was under after having a nightmare for 12 holes. He missed the putt and lost in the play-off, however, there were lots of positives for Rory.PositionHe could have won in Dubai, where he had a bad final round and he could have won here, where for him he had a bad final round.But compare this to a year ago, it seems that week-in, week-out Rory is in with a chance to win. Hes putting himself, in his words, into position.Thats all hes looking for, really; hes going to have his fair share of conversions as we go through the year so wins are around the corner. It might even be this week at Doral because hes one of the guys that can really bounce back really quickly.Hes finished second here so its not a disaster. What happened to Tiger is a disaster - he had a bad week and pulled out with a bad back, whereas Rory lost in a play-off and will move on.ProtectiveWith the Masters starting on April 10, Lee told Sky Sports News that Woods withdrawal was most likely to be a precautionary measure to ensure he doesnt aggravate his lower back.Given that hes playing at venues that hes used to, Tiger would have liked to have had won once or at least really contended - that really hasnt happened. His golf isnt where he wants it to be and hes playing poorly for him.He was five-over par when he packed in at 13. He said hed been having twinges on the range before he started and they continued through the round.Perhaps its a protective thing to ensure that he doesnt damage it any further. But something in the back of my mind tells me that if he was in contention and leading by a shot, would he have carried on? The answer is probably yes. Custom Timberwolves T-shirts .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place. Custom Timberwolves Jerseys . 4 Villanova with a 96-68 drubbing on Monday. Wragge hit 9-of-14 from behind the arc, matching Kyle Korvers school record for 3-pointers in a game set in 2003, as Creighton (16-3, 6-1 Big East broke a conference record with 21 treys in the rout. http://www.customtimberwolvesjersey.com/ . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. Cheap Timberwolves Jerseys . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Custom Timberwolves Jerseys . Colin Wilson had two goals and an assist, and Mike Fisher scored a goal and helped set up two others in the Predators 6-4 victory over the Red Wings on Monday night. STARKVILLE, Miss. -- East Tennessee States Hanner Mosquera-Perea tipped in the game-winning bucket with 1.4 seconds left as the Bucs defeated Mississippi State 67-65 on Wednesday night.Mississippi States Lamar Peters sank a 3-pointer to tie the game at 67-67 with 10.9 seconds left. But the last-second put back gave the Bucs their sixth win in the last seven games.I saw the opportunity to come back and help my team win the game, said Mosquera-Perea. Coach tells us to never give up and we didnt. We knew we had to box out and get the rebound. Thats what we did.Desonta Bradford led East Tennessee State with 15 points while T.J. Cromer added 14.I thought we played a complete game and we didnt do that Saturday against Dayton, said East Tennessee State head coach Steve Forbes. Mississippi State is young and talented and we knew it would be tough because they are so athletic. But for the most part we were pretty settled most of the game and weathered that storm.Aric Holman led Mississippi State with 17 points and was one of four Bulldogs in double digits. Mississippi States leading scorer, Quinndary Weatherspoon, was just 3 of 14 from the floor and finished with 13 points. Mario Kegler had 12 and Peters had 10 for the Bulldogs.Obviously its a tough loss against what I think is a very good team, said Mississippi State head coach Ben Howland.ddddddddddddThey are a tough team and a veteran team. I was disappointed in the first half with our transition defense. I tried to make it really clear how good this team is and we were a step slow to start the first half. We just have to get better guarding the ball and staying in front, defensively.Mississippi State (6-3) jumped to an 8-2 lead before the visiting Bucs went on a hot streak. East Tennessee State went on a 12-4 run midway through the first half and took a 29-21 lead with 8:15 left in the half.The Bucs (8-2) shot 48.1 percent in the first half and led 31-26 at the break. ETSU also held a 20-14 advantage on the boards and outscored the Bulldogs 20-12 in the paint in the first half.BIG PICTUREMississippi State: The Bulldogs travel to Jackson on Monday to face in-state foe Southern Miss at the Mississippi Coliseum.East Tennessee State: The Bucs finish off a three-game road swing at Morehead State on Saturday.UP NEXTMississippi State: Quinndary Weatherspoon has averaged 16 points in his last three games and since returning from a wrist injury.East Tennessee State: The Bucs have now won three straight games against Mississippi State, including two straight in Starkville ' ' '