The LPGA Tour returns from its three-week Olympic hiatus this week with a stop in western Canada. Priddis Greens Golf and Country Club near Calgary is the setting for the Canadian Pacific Womens Open, which gets underway on Thursday.All eyes will be on defending champion Lydia Ko of New Zealand, who has won four times this season and has captured this event three times in the past four years. Ko is coming off a silver-medal winning performance in Rio.Ko says winning an Olympic medal stands alongside the top accomplishments of her career.Its definitely one of the highest ones up there, she said. I cant take away the two majors I won. Those are very special, winning Evian and ANA Inspiration, but also this one, even though this one is a silver medal, its just as special. Everything is so different in its own way, but its definitely one to remember. I think its just more so the atmosphere and the vibe of the Olympics that I just enjoyed so much.Ko is one of 32 Olympians in the field and the only medalist. Gold medalist Inbee Park (South Korea) and bronze medalist Shanshan Feng (China) are bypassing this event.Eight of the top 10 ranked players in the world are on hand, however, as are the top 10 players on the LPGA money list. The field includes Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand, who, like Ko, is a four-time winner this season but was forced to withdraw from the Olympic tournament because of an injury.The list of other Olympians in the field includes Canadians Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp, U.S. Womens Open runnerup Anna Nordqvist (Sweden), Charley Hull (Great Britain), Suzann Pettersen (Norway), Minjee Lee (Australia), Sei Young Kim (South Korea), and Americans Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller.A total of 17 Canadian players are in the field, four of them amateurs. In the wake of her Olympic experience, Sharp is looking forward to playing the next two weeks in her homeland.Its nice to be home right after the Olympics, she said, to continue wearing the red and white this week and next week (in Ontario), for two weeks in a row, I cant think of a better way to celebrate being at the Olympics than playing in Canada two weeks in a row.Sharp feels the exposure that womens golf received in Rio will increase awareness of the sport.Golf was in the Olympics for the first time in over 100 years, she said, and we were a part of that. I think a lot more people saw it than normal because everybody watches the Olympics.Cheap Air Max Ireland .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. Nike Air Max Cheapest Online .C. Lions has come to an end. Banks told TSN on Jan 2 that he had no interest in playing out the option year of his contract with the Lions in 2014, and he again made that clear in a conversation with Lions GM Wally Buono last week. http://www.airmaxcheapireland.com/ . Los Angeles star goalie survived those perilous gymnastics with no problem, and he eventually backstopped the Kings to a skid-snapping win. Quick stopped 27 shots in his return from a 24-game injury absence, Jeff Carter scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:55 to play, and the Kings snapped their five-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. Nike Air Max Buy Online Cheap .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Nike Air Max Ireland Sale . -- Edmontons Val Sweeting is two wins away from a trip to Winnipeg to play in Canadas Road of the Rings in December.GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Born and raised in Mississippi, and with stops at Auburn and Kentucky on his resume, Scott Stricklin has spent more than two decades in the Southeastern Conference.He knows the league inside and out, and has witnessed pretty much everything during his career. So he understands the daunting task of following Jeremy Foley. He also welcomes the opportunity.Florida hired Stricklin as its athletic director Tuesday, giving him a six-year deal worth $1.076 million annually to succeed Foley. Stricklin is leaving his alma mater, Mississippi State, and taking on a massive facilities upgrade in Gainesville. The bigger challenge just might be replacing Foley, one of the most successful college sports leaders in the country.I admire so much what has happened here, Stricklin said. So it was much more excitement than it was trepidation. Its much better starting off from a position of a place thats accustomed to success, knows how to exhibit that success, have the right people in place. ... Im going to benefit from all the work hes done. So I see it as nothing but a positive.Foley had been scheduled to retire Saturday after 40 years with the Gators, including the last 25 as athletic director. During Foleys tenure, the Gators won 27 national championships in 10 sports and 130 SEC titles. He now will remain in place until Nov. 1, creating a little extra transition time.Foley has the option of serving as emeritus AD and senior adviser to the university president for five years after his retirement, either full or part time. He also can choose to be an adviser to Stricklin.Ill be very respectful, Foley said. Im not trying to be the AD behind the curtain. ... Hes not going to fail. All of us are going to do everything we can to make him not fail, and Im going to do my part in that. Ill respect him, respect the decision hes made and I want to do all I can to help him. Thats going to determine where he wants me.Stricklin has been the Bulldogs AD since 2010. He has a background in fundraising, which will serve him well at Florida.Foley unveiled plans two weeks ago to spend $100 million to bring Floridas athletics program up to date, including building a 1000,000-square-foot, stand-alone football facility.ddddddddddddStricklin spearheaded more than $140 million in facility improvements during his time at Mississippi State. He also oversaw significant increases in booster club membership and donations.Florida first contacted Stricklin about the opening in June. They talked on and off for a couple of months before negotiations heated up in August. The sides agreed to the deal last week, and it became official when the University Athletic Associations board of trustees unanimously approved the hire Tuesday.For Stricklin, the decision was a no-brainer. He said repeatedly that Florida is the only job he would have left Mississippi State to take.The only constant in life is change, Stricklin said. So we have two choices, right? We can either sit back, kind of let everything move around us, or we can keep pushing forward and making sure Florida maintains its position as the pre-eminent athletic department in the country.To do that, we have to be innovative. We have to be creative. We have to be progressive. We have to continue to push the envelope in all the right ways to make sure Florida maintains its advantage that its had for so many years.Florida has built a reputation as a strong academic institution and has a winning tradition few schools can match. Stricklin can earn up to $200,000 a year in performance bonuses tied to academic and athletic success.Its the best job in college athletics, said Stricklin, who also spent time at Tulane and Baylor.Its certainly in the conversation. The Gators have won the SECs All-Sports Trophy 24 of the last 25 years.Stricklins wife and two daughters, Abby and Sophie, joined him at the introductory news conference. One was born in Waco, Texas; the other in Lexington, Kentucky. They have moved with their father and switched allegiances a few times already. Not surprisingly then, they seemed comfortable decked out in orange and blue.You finally got the best colors in the SEC, Foley told them.---AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '
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