a flare into shallow right field for a single t

ARDMORE, Pa. -- Rory McIlroy started the U.S. Open with a run up the Rocky steps. He ended it going a few rounds with one of his clubs. McIlroy was miserable at Merion and he took out his frustrations on his club on No. 11 on Sunday. His first tee shot plopped in the water. He took a drop, then sent another ball into the same creek. McIlroy then jammed the Nike club into the ground and completely twisted the head. "I think thats what this tournament does to you," he said. "At one point or another, its got the better of you, and it definitely did this weekend." He briefly lost his cool, just not his sense of humour. When he was introduced at his press conference as shooting 14 over, he joked, "You didnt have to tell them that part." He shot a 6-over 76 in the final round. McIlroy was part of the feature group the opening two rounds, playing alongside Tiger Woods and Adam Scott -- Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in the world ranking. All three were big duds at Merion Golf Club. Woods finished at 13 over, and Scott at 15 over. "I thought of the three of us, the first two rounds, Adam played the best, and he was the one with the worst score," McIlroy said. "But that is just what a U.S. Open does to you." Again, McIlroy never came close to winning. He finished 25th at the Masters this year and was coming off a brutal 78 at the Memorial. He barely made the cut and finished 57th. Most notably, he quit in the middle of a round at the Honda Classic. The 24-year-old from Northern Ireland believed, though, his game is rounding into form. "I dont feel like my game is that far away," he said. "Thats what Ive been taking out of this week. Its a matter of trying to let it all click into place." With his wedge as bent out of shape as his game, McIlroy finished with 13 clubs. It might not have mattered if he had 19. The former world No. 1 again refused to blame his equipment switch for his season-long struggles. "I sort of needed to play a little bit more," he said. "If I was to do it all over again, I would have done things slightly differently. But you learn from that and its hopefully something Ill never have to do in my career again. So I dont mind taking three months to figure it out and go from there." Charley Taylor Jersey . First off, the fans ripped the Cubbies introduction of a fuzzy new kid-friendly mascot named "Clark". Alex Smith Redskins Jersey . Roman Josi had a goal and an assist to lead the Predators to a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday night. http://www.redskinsfansproshop.com/Redskins+Clinton+Portis+Rush+Jersey.html?cat=1304 . LOUIS -- St. Sonny Jurgensen Youth Jersey . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. DaRon Payne Youth Jersey .C. -- Rodney Hood connected from all over the court while freshman Jabari Parker was busy swatting shots and scoring in transition. DETROIT -- Doug Fister and the Detroit Tigers arent giving an inch in the AL Central. Fister pitched eight impressive innings, Austin Jackson homered and Jose Iglesias drove in a run in his Detroit debut to lead the Tigers to a 2-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Friday night. Detroit has won 10 of 11 -- a run thats enabled the Tigers to stay atop the division despite a similar surge by second-place Cleveland. "We cant control anything that other teams do, obviously," Fister said. "But were coming in, playing hard and working together, and I think thats whats going to carry us anywhere we go this year." The White Sox lost their eighth straight game. Fister (10-5) allowed a run and seven hits, striking out two. Joaquin Benoit pitched a hitless ninth for his 11th save in 11 chances. Iglesias, acquired from Boston this week in a three-team deal, started at third base in place of Miguel Cabrera, who experienced soreness after running and was scratched pregame. Iglesias contributed right away with his new team. "Baseball is the same," he said. "Great group -- and fun to win today." Hector Santiago (3-7) allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings. He struck out seven and walked one. "That was one of Hectors best games all year," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "He usually has an inning or two in the middle where he gets out of synch, walks a few guys and gives up some runs. That didnt happen today, and thats an important step forward for him." Fister threw 88 pitches before being replaced by Benoit for the ninth. He won his fourth straight start -- and hes allowed four earned runs in 28 innings over that span. Fister didnt strike out many batters, instead retiring them on groundball after groundball. That was one factor in keeping his pitch count so low. "Things were feeling pretty good tonight," Fistter said.dddddddddddd "Im trying to be as consistent as possible from Day One, and things are falling our way right now." The Indians lost Friday after eight straight wins, so Detroit now leads the division by three games. The 23-year-old Iglesias was initially going to play second base Friday, but when Cabrera was pulled before the game, he moved over to third. Iglesias could soon take over at shortstop for Jhonny Peralta, who faces a possible suspension amid the fallout from baseballs investigation into the Biogenesis of America anti-aging clinic. Peralta was in the lineup at shortstop Friday. Prince Fielder led off the Detroit fourth with a double, and he went tumbling into third while advancing on Victor Martinezs flyout. One out later, Iglesias dropped a flare into shallow right field for a single to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. "I was just thinking -- put the ball in play," Iglesias said. "Thats my goal -- see a lot of pitches, put a good swing and get a good pitch to hit." Jackson hit his seventh homer of the year in the fifth, a high drive that carried over the fence in left-centre field. Chicago ended Fisters shutout bid in the sixth with an RBI single by Alex Rios, but Fielder cut off Jacksons throw from centre and ran Rios down between first and second for the third out. The White Sox (40-67) are at least 27 games under .500 for the first time since finishing the 1976 season 64-97. Chicago put the tying run on first to lead off the seventh and eighth innings, but each time, Fister was able to induce a double play grounder. In the ninth, Rios drew a two-out walk and stole second, but Adam Dunn grounded out to end it. NOTES: The time of the game was 2 hours, 7 minutes. ... Both teams left men on first and third in the first. ... Detroits Max Scherzer (15-1) takes the mound against Chicagos John Danks (2-8) on Saturday night. ' ' '