Stars und Sternchen! » .22 both the Marlies and coac

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- Chris Kirk knew he was doing enough right Sunday at Sea Island to win a tournament that means so much to him. He just didnt realize it would take something that went so wrong for Briny Baird. Tied for the lead in the McGladrey Classic, Kirk was on the other side of the 18th fairway trying to envision an approach that would cover the flag and set up a birdie chance for the win. Those plans changed when Baird, with the ball below his feet in a fairway bunker, topped a 4-iron and watched his ball roll 90 yards and into a hazard. Kirk played for par, closed with a 4-under 66 for a one-shot victory, and became the first player from Sea Island to win the McGladrey Classic -- even if the 28-year-old moved to Atlanta a few months ago after six years in this tiny slice of paradise. He received the trophy from tournament host Davis Love III, his hero when he first took the game seriously. "To come here to Sea Island, which is a place that I love and cherish so much, and Daviss tournament, it just an unbelievable thing," Kirk said. "Davis was kind of my guy when I was 12 and 13, really starting to play golf. He was my favourite player, and hes turned from being my idol to sort of a mentor and good friend. So Im a very lucky person to be in that situation, and to win his tournament really means a lot to me." The victory sends Kirk to the Masters for the first time, a tournament that means even more. His joy was tempered slightly by the way the tournament finished. "It hurt to do what I did on the last hole," Baird said. Baird is now 0-for-365 in his PGA Tour career, and it looked for the longest time that he finally would win. Baird went from a two-shot deficit to a one-shot lead in two holes on the back nine, and he was on the verge of seizing control on the par-5 15th. Baird hit his approach to 40 feet for a chance at eagle. Kirk was between clubs and pulled his hybrid into the water left of the green, and then he slammed his wedge into the turf when he chipped weakly, leaving him a long putt for par. It looked as if Baird would lead by two shots, maybe three, with three holes to play. Instead, he ran his eagle putt 4 feet by the cup and three-putted for par, and Kirk holed his 20-foot par putt to stay only one shot behind. "That kept me in it," Kirk said. He caught Baird with a 15-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole, setting up one last surprise on a back nine filled with them. Tim Clark closed with a 62 and was on the practice range, holding out slim hope for a playoff if Kirk and Baird made bogey on the 18th. Only one of them faltered, and it was shocking. Baird had a tough lie in the sand, and he felt his left foot slip. Even so, he felt he should have been able to pull off the shot. It wasnt even close. Baird struggled with his swing most of the day, and he told his caddie he didnt feel comfortable with it going down the 18th. "You mix that with nerves, and its a recipe for disaster," Baird said. Kirk finished at 14-under 266, and his last tournament of 2013 came with plenty of perks -- the biggest a trip to Augusta National, which he only has played when Georgia alumni used to invited the golf team over once a year. He also gets into the Tournament of Champions at Kapalua to start 2014. And his parents get a new photo for their mantle. The one they have is from a decade ago, when Kirk finished his sophomore year in high school and played in the Canon Cup north of Chicago. It was the first time he met Love, and his parents still have a photo of their son with sideburns and braces. "Its a pretty funny picture now," Kirk said. Now he can give them a photo of Kirk and Love posing with the trophy on the 18th green of the Seaside course at Sea Island, where Kirk had lived for the last six years until moving back to Atlanta because his wife is due next month with their second child. He still has his home at Sea Island, and it felt like the home with a large gallery waiting for him around the 18th green. It was the first time Kirk could recall such a large gallery cheering for him. If there was any consolation for Baird, it was money, of all things. The 41-year-old from Miami has said for years that he would rather have a season full of strong finishes that gets him into the Tour Championship than one win and nothing else. Even this week, he said tournament golf is as much about money than trophies. He earned $484,000 for his tie for second, and the 25-foot bogey putt was worth $220,000. Baird was playing this year on a major medical extension from having surgery on both shoulders in 2012, and the money he earned Sunday was enough for him to keep his card for the rest of the season. It was a small consolation. "Its not all about winning," Baird said Sunday. "Ive said that, but this hurts. This really does. This is very disappointing." Divots: This was the sixth time Baird has been runner-up. He has gone the longest without winning among players who have their PGA Tour cards. ... All four tournaments since the McGladrey Classic began in 2010 have been decided by no more than one shot. ... The fall portion of the PGA Tour season ends next week in Mexico. Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys .200. His solution to his hitting woes was business in the front and a party in the back."That would be a mullet," Norris says. Ryan McDonagh Jersey . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell. http://www.hockeylightning.com/authentic-vincent-lecavalier-lightning-jersey/ .com) - Nicklas Backstrom scored a pair of goals and Alex Ovechkin notched a highlight-reel tally, leading the Washington Capitals to a 4-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday at the Prudential Center. Nikita Kucherov Jersey . Austin Watson, Scott Ford, Filip Forsberg and Mark Van Guilder had the other goals for the Admirals (30-21-12). Scott Darling made 30 saves for his 10th win of the season. Martin St. Louis Jersey . The 27th-ranked Austrian underwent surgery on a torn tendon in October and needs more time to recover, the Austria Press Agency reports on Saturday.TORONTO -- The Toronto Marlies leaders did everything they could except win the game. Spencer Abbott and Trevor Smith scored third-period goals erasing a 2-1 deficit giving Toronto a late 3-2 lead. However, Nick Drazneovic scored with 12.9 seconds remaining to force overtime and Andrew Ebbett scored the shootout winner as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins edged the Marlies 4-3 on Sunday afternoon. "A lot of credit goes to our leadership group, the right things were being said in the dressing room and they emptied their tanks to get us that point," said Marlies coach Steve Spott. "Selfishly, youve got a five on six youd like to see us close out the game, but give Wilkes-Barre some credit, theyre a veteran hockey club and they found a way to get the extra point." Anton Zlobin and Scott Harrington had the other goals for the Penguins (32-20-5), who won for the fourth time in 12 games. With the win, the Penguins improved to 4-3-0 in their last seven against Toronto. Kenny Ryan had the other goal for the Marlies (34-19-5), who picked up three of a possible six points in a three-game, three day stretch over the weekend. "Three out of six points is OK, but were coming down the stretch here, every point is pretty important, we dont want a shootout loss to dictate our playoff standing," said Smith, who is battling a lower-back injury after being slew footed Friday in Lake Erie. "Were going to take it in stride here tonight, but letting goals in the last minute of play is unacceptable." Jeff Deslauriers made 31 saves in the win while Torontos Drew MacIntyre stopped 32 shots. With their goaltender pulled for an extra attacker, Drazenovic forced overtime by one timing an Ebbett feed past MacIntyre. Smith gave Toronto its first lead of the game going backhand, top corner on Deslauriers at 15:59 of the third. "I was looking to pass to Leivo actually, he was there, he opened up for a one-timer," Smith said. "Their d-man took it away and I was kind of all alone, was on the backhand so I just tried to take it a little bitt wider and go upstairs.dddddddddddd" Added Spott: "Goes to show you why hes a special player, but that was an NHL goal." Abbott evened it at 2-2 on a power play, beating a screened Deslauriers for his 14th of the season at 10:56 of the third. The goal stretches Abbotts point streak to three games. Zlobin gave the Penguins their second lead of the game at 18:24 of the second poking home a loose puck for his sixth of the season. Ryan tied it 1-1 at 3:16 shorthanded on a partial break, beating Deslauriers blocker-side from the top of the faceoff circle. The goal broke a five-game drought for Ryan. Jerry DAmigo extended his point streak to six games with his assist on the goal. Moments later, Ebbett nearly gave the Penguins their second lead of the game. But with MacIntyre down and out Ebbetts shot hit the post. The Marlies outshot the Penguins 12-4 at one point of the first period, but had nothing to show for it. Harrington opened the scoring at 17:59 of the first, beating MacIntyre from the faceoff dot. Smith, who spent 75 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season, admitted to sharing tactical information with his Marlies teammates prior to puck drop. "There were a couple systems-wise things that I let the guys know," he said. "A little bit of special teams that they have the tendency to do all the time. A couple little things here and there that I tried to help us out." The two teams play for a second and final time April 13 at Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Torontos next game is Friday when the team visits Rochester. Notes: Marlies LW Jamie Devane missed the game serving a one-game suspension as a result of receiving an instigator penalty during the final five minutes of Saturdays 4-1 win over Lake Erie. Under rule 46.22 both the Marlies and coach Steve Spott were also fined US$500 each. Devane picked up four minor penalties, a major, a misconduct and a game misconduct for 33 minutes in penalties in the win. The suspension is Devanes second this season. He missed one game in November stemming from a boarding incident. ' ' '