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HOYLAKE, England - Phil Mickelson rolled long putts across the practice green in front of the Royal Liverpool clubhouse, some of them going in, most of them the right distance. Junior Seau Chargers Jersey . He chirped to the caddie of Brandt Snedeker about their money game, a Mickelson tradition at the majors. Lefty was in good spirits Monday at the British Open, except for having to return the claret jug. Even that allowed him to reflect on a year of keeping golfs oldest trophy, and the confidence he finally has when he plays links golf. "Its a different feeling for me coming over here now having won this tournament," Mickelson said. "The way I felt was, Am I ever going to break through and play well on links golf and win an Open Championship? Now I know that I can. I know that Ive done it, and it takes a lot of pressure off me." Confidence in links golf? Yes. In his game? That takes a little more work. Not even Mickelson would have imagined when he left Muirfield last summer with the claret jug that he would not have another tournament anywhere in the world. This is the longest he has gone without winning in five years. And except for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in January, where he was runner-up, Mickelson hasnt been particularly close. He has missed three cuts. He withdrew twice after narrowly making the cut because of injuries in San Diego and San Antonio. At the Masters, where he is a three-time champion, Mickelson missed the cut for the first time in 17 years. His lone top 10 on the PGA Tour was last August at The Barclays, a tie for sixth when he closed with a 65. So why the smile? "Normally, I would be discourage or frustrated, but Im just not," Mickelson said. "I feel like Ive had some good breakthroughs in some areas. I havent had the results. I know I havent played well. But the parts feel a lot better than the whole right now. And I dont know when it will all click together. I dont know if it will be this week. I dont know if it will be in three weeks or a month or what, but it should be soon." Hes running out of time. Mickelson is No. 12 in the Ryder Cup standings. He has qualified for every team since 1995 — two years after Jordan Spieth was born. He has reached the FedEx Cup finale for the top 30 at the Tour Championship every year since it began in 2007. With only three starts before the playoffs begin, Mickelson is at No. 97. Then again, its easy for Mickelson not to be overly concerned. He is 44 and has been on tour for half of his life, compiling 42 victories on the PGA Tour and five majors, including that claret jug. Its at least been a good year for the jug. He has taken it to golf clubs and corporate outings, shared it with friends and people he had never met. He has let his caddie, Jim Mackay, take it to pose for pictures. Mickelson had only one rule. "One of the things I stressed is that we have to treat the claret jug with reverence and respect that it deserves, and only put good stuff in it," he said. "No bad stuff was allowed. And each person that I brought it to had a different definition of what the good stuff was." One definition was a bottle of 1990 Romanee Conti, which can range in price from $16,000 to about $35,000. "Now, I didnt know what this was when I drank it," Mickelson said. "I just knew that it was really good. And that was the best bottle that was ever put in there." Like fine wine, Mickelson can only hope he gets better with age. Even though he had to overcome arthritis in the middle of the 2010 season, and only eight players older than he is right now have won majors, Mickelson doesnt see that as an obstacle. Sure, he has to work a little harder, train a little better, stretch a little more. "But I feel better than I have in a long time," he said. Padraig Harrington is the last player to repeat as Open champion. Tiger Woods repeated at Royal Liverpool in 2006. Tom Watson won back-to-back some 30 years ago. Winning majors is difficult enough. Winning the same one two years in a row is even harder. Monday was the first full day of practice for most players, while some took the day off. Woods didnt show up at the course after practicing both days on the weekend. Some players from the Scottish Open werent at Hoylake. Others, like Spieth, arrived Monday morning on a charter from the John Deere Classic and went on to play. Mickelson closed with a 65 at Royal Aberdeen to tie for 11th in the Scottish Open. He won the Scottish Open a year ago, and believes the lag putting into a crossing wind, along with seeing the ball react on links courses is a big benefit. Plus, hes never been so enthusiast about golfs oldest championship, mainly because his name is on the trophy. Manti Teo Chargers Jersey . Louis Cardinals, the team will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the opening of the SkyDome. Jays legends Jimmy Key and Ernie Whitt, members of playoff and World Series-winning teams of the past, will be on hand for the festivities to look back at what was the beginning of the Jays halcyon years. Neville Hewitt Dolphins Jersey . Kyrie Irving and the Cleveland Cavaliers were left fretting over an MRI on the stars left knee. Paul George scored 21 points, Roy Hibbert added 19 and the Pacers used a dominant fourth quarter to blow out the Cavaliers 91-76 on Tuesday The Pacers (25-5) have won eight in a row over Cleveland, their longest active streak against any opponent. www.nflauthentic.us.com/Miami-Dolphins_Dion-Jordan-Jersey/ . As for regular Olympic spectators, theyre being warned that most travel insurance policies wont cover acts of terrorism or war. The Games in southern Russia, which run from Feb. 7-23, are being staged amid unprecedented security and under global warnings of danger.WASHINGTON -- Nene had scored the tying basket, Paul Pierce was still without a point, and Joe Johnson was among those feeling deja vu when the horn sounded at the end of regulation, sending the Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets to overtime for the second time in three games at the Verizon Center. "I was talking to Joe on the court," Wizards guard Bradley Beal said. "And he was like, Not this again. I just started laughing." Pierce eventually made a jumper, avoiding his first scoreless game since he was a rookie, but Nene had another big play to make, supplying the assist for Trevor Arizas go-ahead 3-pointer in the extra period Friday night as the Wizards won 112-108. "How up-and-down was that one?" Washington coach Randy Wittman said with a smile as he headed toward the locker room. Up and down. Back and forth. The Nets blew an 11-point lead in the final 4 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter, when Nene essentially carried the Wizards by scoring 12 of his 20 points, including consecutive three-point plays and then the putback of John Walls missed layup that tied the score at 99 with 1.2 seconds remaining. "Amazing," Wizards forward Martell Webster said. "Gut-check time -- and he showed up." Beal scored 29 points, matching his career-high, Wall had 17 points and 14 assists, and Marcin Gortat had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Wizards, who nearly shut out both Pierce and Kevin Garnett for the first time since the 1990s. Garnett didnt score until his 18-footer with 3:40 to play in regulation, and Pierce waited until overtime before hitting a jumper. Pierce, who was a game-time decision to play after missing the morning shootaround with an illness, finished 1 for 5. Garnett was 2 for 11 and had a dunk attempt emphatically stuffed by Nene in the third quarter. He also had six rebounds, two assists and two steals. "Im not in an offensive rhythm that I would liike," Garnett said. Seth Joyner Eagles Jersey. "But thats not a priority here. . The priority is getting the stops and finishing teams off and finishing quarters off and coming out with better thirds. Who cares about this offence? Needless to say, we got to make buckets. When you come here, you come here with the idea of sacrificing something. I didnt really shoot the ball well, but other places, I made up pretty well." Pierce did not address reporters after the game. "Hes a pro. He put the uniform on, not feeling well," Brooklyn coach Jason Kidd said. "But he came out and gave us everything he could. To be able to answer the call in that overtime, that just shows his leadership and being a professional." Pierce has been held without a point only once in his NBA career -- as a rookie in 1999 with the Boston Celtics. Garnetts only scoreless games were also in his rookie year, three times with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1995-96 season. Brook Lopez scored 23 points, and Johnson had 16 for the Nets, who are 2-0 at home and 0-3 on the road. Ex-Wizards forward Andray Blatche, booed every time he touched the ball, added 10 points and 13 rebounds. Brooklyn committed 23 turnovers, including nine in the third quarter, essentially cancelling out its 51-36 rebounding advantage. The Nets also went 6 for 24 from 3-point range. The Wizards and Nets played a double-overtime game in Washington last season. The home team lost that one. "If you want to be a good team and have a chance of being in the playoffs," Wall said, "youve got to win close games. We didnt give up." NOTES: The Wizards didnt get their first offensive rebound until the 6:38 mark of the second quarter -- and it was grabbed by the shortest player on the roster, 6-foot-3 backup point guard Eric Maynor, who was following up his own shot. ... 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