NEWS » hat ability to quickly bounce back

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland -- Alex Noren of Sweden sank a 20-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole to beat Scott Hend of Australia in a playoff for the European Masters title on Sunday.Noren fired a 5-under round of 65 to be tied at 17 under with Hend, the overnight leader who carded a 66 on the Swiss Alps course.Playing the par-four 18th hole again in the playoff, Hend left his third shot from the fringe of the green well short before Norens no-doubter putt earned a 450,000 euros ($502,000) winners prize.It was a really fun day, said Noren, who won his sixth European Tour title on the same Swiss Alps course where his first came in 2009.In third place, Andrew Beef Johnston of England went 5 under on the inward nine holes to card a 65, trailing Noren and Hend by three.Lee Westwood was the best of Europes Ryder Cup players, firing a 7-under 63 to place fourth, five strokes back.Danny Willett, the 2016 Masters champion defending his title here, shot a 64 to finish tied for 12th place at 9 under.Noren, who is poised to rise from his No. 39 world ranking, also won in July at the Scottish Open and believes he can handle pressure better since his now six-month-old daughter was born.I have a baby girl now and that takes up a lot of my focus, said the 34-year-old Swede, whose family joined him in Switzerland this week. Its only golf. Its not my whole life anymore.Noren needed only 30 shots for the outward nine, then dropped his first stroke at the par-4 10th. Hend began a stretch of three birdies in four holes from the 12th to cut the Swedes lead to one shot.A three-putt by Noren at the 17th gave Hend a chance, which the Australian almost wasted on the 18th by pulling his tee shot left into the trees. Hend saved par to force the playoff as rain started to fall for the first time all week.On a standout day for Europes Ryder Cup players, Westwoods round edged 64s for fellow Englishmen Willett and Matt Fitzpatrick, the runner-up here last year who finished at 10 under.Westwood holed his own long putt on the 18th for a seventh birdie in a round with no dropped shots. Still, a first-round 72 on Thursday left the 1999 European Masters winner too far back to challenge.On the first day I was a bit rusty, Westwood acknowledged. I havent played much golf for four weeks before coming here.Westwood and Willett plan to play one more tournament before the Ryder Cup starts Sept. 30 at Hazeltine, Minnesota. Both will take one week off, then return at the Italian Open, played Sept. 15-18 at Monza.Im looking forward to another week off for practice and then to Italy, Willett said, after a round had begun with bogey-5s at the first two holes. Terrence Ross Jersey . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Penny Hardaway Magic Jersey . I cant pinpoint a date, but I do remember a player from my youth. Brian Downing was with the Chicago White Sox at a time when I listened to every game I possibly could on the radio. That particular season the late great Harry Caray was calling the White Sox games. http://www.magicauthentic.com/kids-dwight-howard-magic-jersey/ . Only three players drafted by NHL clubs were included on the Czech selection camp roster on Wednesday. Those players were Dallas Stars 2012 first-rounder Radek Faksa, Winnipeg Jets 2013 fourth-rounder Jan Kostalek and Phoenix Coyotes 2012 seventh-rounder Marek Langhamer. D.J. Augustin Magic Jersey . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. Aaron Gordon Magic Jersey . - Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie never doubted he would bring back coach Dennis Allen for a third year despite back-to-back 4-12 records. What do you need to know about the weekends big stories? Joe McDonald gives us his take on the biggest and best. This is where we say, Morning, Joe.Offensive New Yorkers: The New York Rangers are pumping in goals at an incredible pace. The Rangers lead the league with 55 goals in the first 13 games and are atop the Metropolitan Division at 10-3-0. They have scored five or more goals in eight of their 13 games, including the last five, and lead the league in goals per game with 4.23. The best part is the scoring is being generated throughout the lineup. Over the past five games, the line of Michael Grabner, Kevin Hayes and J.T. Miller has combined for 23 points (12 goals and 11 assists). There was a point last season when coach Alain Vigneault had Hayes sitting in the press box as a healthy scratch because he wasnt productive. It served as a wakeup call, and Hayes used that as motivation during the offseason. Hayes scored a goal and was a plus-2 to help the Rangers capture a 5-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday night. Hayes is on a five-game points streak (four goals, nine assists), and his four-game goal-scoring streak is a career high. Hes also a plus-11 in the past five games. The teams plus-26 goal differential also leads the league and proves the Rangers are a force to be reckoned with this season.Blackhawks still got it: After becoming the kings of perennial success over the past six seasons, one would have to wonder when the Chicago Blackhawks would run out of gas, luck and the ability to win consistently. It will happen, right? And if so, when? The answer: Not yet. On Sunday, the Blackhawks defeated the Dallas Stars 4-3 in overtime, giving them their sixth straight win and a 7-1-1 mark at home. While some might question the production of Jonathan Toews or Patrick Kane -- the captain and defending Art Ross winner are both off last seasons pace -- the Blackhawks are getting incredible contributions from Artem Anisimov, who had one goal and one assist Sundday to extend his career-high points streak to 11 games.dddddddddddd He has eight goals and nine assists in that span. Kane scored his fifth of the season, while Toews added his third. There is too much talent on this team in the prime of their careers to think Chicago is going in the opposite direction. After 13 games, the Blackhawks lead the Central Division with 19 points. A lot of that success so far is based on the goaltending of Corey Crawford and the stellar play of Anisimov. Once Kane and Toews get hot, and it will happen, Chicago is going to be an even more dangerous team.Blowout rebound: By now youve heard about the Columbus Blue Jackets demolishing the Montreal Canadiens 10-0 on Friday, an embarrassing loss for the Atlantic Division leaders. The Canadiens entered that game 9-0-1. Montreal had won eight in a row and had only allowed 13 goals in the previous 10 games. Its a loss the Canadiens -- especially goalie Al Montoya, who was in net for all 10 goals -- wont soon forget but need to learn from. They showed that ability to quickly bounce back with a 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. Those two games should serve as a benchmark for the Canadiens. After losing in that fashion on Friday, it could easily have been the beginning of a losing skid, which weve often seen before. Instead, they showed character to rebound from a devastating loss. That tells me every player is on the same page in the dressing room. That tells me the overall organizational message is understood. It also proves Montreal will be a dangerous team to defeat consistently. There were questions entering the season whether coach Michel Therrien had lost his players and how long he would last if the Canadiens got off to a tough start. This team is legit, and despite losing by double digits, the coachs job is safe, judging by his teams response. ' ' '