Red-Racers Forum » onThe Penguins are as close to a lock to go to the pla

Jhonattan Vegas certainly has the name and attire to mix it with Sydneys movers and shakers, but more importantly he showed he has the game to challenge for the Australian Open and add his name to a trophy that features some of golfs greatest names.Decked out in a fluoro orange shirt that would rival any bright light in Nevada, Vegas tore up Royal Sydneys front nine with five straight birdies on Friday morning before surviving a mini-meltdown to put himself firmly in contention at five-under ahead of the weekend action.The course played a lot different to this morning than it did yesterday, Vegas said after posting a six-under 66.It was playing pretty hard [yesterday], the greens firm, fast, wind blowing; it was really hard the way it was playing yesterday.So softer greens, great greens, the ball was rolling really good on the greens; it was easy to make putts. But overall I feel like I played a pretty solid round...and we had a lot of fun, that was key, too.What makes Vegas round all the more impressive is the fact he only arrived in Sydney and had just one look at the course before opening up with a one-over 73 on Thursday.The first thing I told my caddie when I got here on Wednesday was that I really liked the course, I really like the area, I like everything, he said.So that was definitely a good start and, yeah, obviously there are different types of golf courses, but Im doing a good job with my caddie to get things going.Vegas is the only other international attraction of note in Sydney this week outside American superstar Jordan Spieth, though the Venezuelan has been playing second fiddle to Australias Adam Scott.Aaron Baddeley has completed the pairing over the first two days at Royal Sydney, but there is no doubt whom the galleries have come to see with Scotts birdies pulling double the cheers of his playing partners on Friday.Not that Vegas sees it that way.Was it for Adam or was it for me? I thought it was for me, Vegas joked when asked about the swarms of people that hurried for vantage points of the former Masters winner and current world No.7.No, obviously hes a big athlete here in Australia and every time you can get a crowd like that it has a different feel, so its a good atmosphere out there.And anytime you can play with a top-10 player, too, is always fun and [Scott] is such a great guy, too, so its even better.Vegas was just two shots shy of the clubhouse lead midway through the afternoon wave on Friday.Cheap NFL Jerseys . The Olympic champion curler and TSN curling analyst immediately went online to look at the Halls long list of honoured members. Thats when the enormity of the honour sunk in. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Online . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. 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Clearance Nike NFL Jerseys . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss.So, that was pretty much a standard season for the Pittsburgh Penguins.Sidney Crosby had five points in October, they fired their coach and won 18 of 23 down the stretch under new head coach Mike Sullivan. Then, with a rookie goalie who had spent most of the season in the American Hockey League, they never looked back, beating the San Jose Sharks in six games to win their first Stanley Cup since 2009. As for Crosby? All he did was finish third in NHL scoring with 85 points and then dominate the playoffs at both ends of the ice en route to a Conn Smythe Trophy win as playoff MVP. He enters this season fresh from an MVP turn at the World Cup of Hockey, where Canada went undefeated and Crosby led all players in points.So, whats the problem? History. And history tells us that it really doesnt matter how good you are after winning it all, the rest of the field always catches the defending champion. No NHL team has won back-to-back championships since the Detroit Red Wings did so in 1997 and 1998. And history tells us its virtually impossible, even if youre as good as the Penguins. Are they any more poised to defy history? Well, thats part of the adventure of the coming season.Best new facesDoes goalie Matt Murray count as a new face? Murray, 22, will start the season on the injured reserve list but will push Marc-Andre Fleury for starts after Murray gets over his broken hand suffered playing for Team North America at the World Cup. Other than the departure of top-six defenseman Ben Lovejoy, who signed with the New Jersey Devils, the lineup will essentially be the same one that celebrated at the Shark Tank in San Jose after Game 6. While many Cup champions do turn over a big portion of their lineup, its worth noting the Penguins relied heavily on rookie forwards Tom Kuhnhackl, Conor Sheary and Bryan Rust throughout the playoffs, even though they had spent considerable time in the AHL last season. So in some ways, they too can be considered new faces. Defenseman Justin Schultz, obtained from the Edmonton Oilers before the deadline, and Trevor Daley, who came over from the Chicago Blackhawks midseason and then missed the latter part of the playoffs with a broken leg, count as new-but-not-new faces.ddddddddddddBiggest unknownsHow does Phil Kessel rebound from a hand injury that bothered him in the playoffs? (Though he still finished with 22 points in 24 games). Can the rookies carry on their evolution after answering the call so ably in the playoffs? Can Brian Dumoulin continue his impressive ascendancy as a top-four defender? But no unknown will be more persistent than how GM Jim Rutherford handles his goaltending. The pressure is off to start the season with Murray on the shelf. But at some point, Rutherford is going to have to determine whether he rides out the season with Murray and the much-loved Fleury sharing time in the hopes the tandem can bring home a second straight Cup, even if it means potentially losing Fleury in the expansion draft in June. Or does Rutherford try to maximize the asset by moving Fleury midseason?Sure thingsIs there anything more sure than Crosby? Seems funny to think that people were prepared to write off Crosby after his tepid start to the season. Yet by the end of the playoffs, its fair to say he was playing as well as he ever had, his attention to detail unparalleled. He then followed up with a dominating performance at the World Cup. If there is one leader who might be able to coax a second straight championship out of this group, its Crosby. As for the way this team will play, thats a given too: fast. Dont expect Sullivan or the Pens to take their foot off the gas.PredictionThe Penguins are as close to a lock to go to the playoffs for the 11th straight season as any team, but that still might not be good enough to get them the Metropolitan Division title. Second in the Metropolitan. ' ' '