Hes not leading, in fact hes four back with 36 to play, but there seems to be a sense that Tiger Woods is in control of this tournament. But lets slow down just a minute before we give the engraver the OK to start etching Woods name onto the Claret Jug for a fourth time. Yes, Woods has played well, but two others have played better. Maybe the combined total of major victories of those two, Adam Scott and Brandt Snedeker, is 14 behind Woods, but they arent exactly inexperienced. And lets not forget what happened to Tiger at the U.S. Open just a month ago when he held the 36-hole lead. For those with short memories, he suffered through his worst weekend in a major before ending up in 21st. Woods right now is four back of Snedekers lead, which isnt really much when you consider this course, with its 206 bunkers, and the wind forecast for Sunday (although the meteorologists have been only slightly less unpredictable than Woods has this year). But hes also only two ahead of a gaggle of golfers, including the likes of Graeme McDowell, Matt Kuchar and Jason Dufner. In Snedeker, the likeable redhead from Nashville, there is much to appreciate. Along with his Canadian caddie, Scott Vail, from Oshawa, Ont., he has navigated his ball through 36 holes at Royal Lytham without a bogey and without hitting any bunkers, many of which resembled little swimming pools yesterday in the boggy conditions. Thats impressive. Its only the second time since 2000 that anyones played the first two rounds of a major without a bogey (the other guy to do that was someone named Woods). Vail said the two were having fun, which tells you a lot considering the miserable weather here. The game plan has been centre of the fairway, centre of the green and let the putter do the rest. He calls it boring golf. So far, its worked, especially when the putter is working as well as it has for Snedeker. As impressive as thats been, he said he wouldnt be surprised if golf fans on both sides of the pond wondered just who the heck he was, in spite of the fact hes won three times, including this year at Torrey Pines. Scott has been expected to win a major for about as long as hes been on tour but always fell short. He does have a so-called fifth major, the Players, but that was eight years ago. He looks calm so far and has continued to play steady but also urgent golf, trying to look at every hole as if its the 72nd. Scott has altered his year to allow himself to prepare for the majors; so far, hes only tipped it up in nine tournaments, trading tournament play for practice time. He tied for eighth at the Masters and 15th at the U.S. Open so he believes its working. Woods has looked efficient, if not exactly spectacular, save for his final shot on Friday, which went from a relatively dry bunker into the cup. He used the driver only once bringing his two-day total to three perhaps giving up some yardage but trying to stay away from the rough and bunkers. Still, there are signs that he isnt quite spot on. He has played Lythams two par 5s in even par for two rounds and his short game hasnt exactly been stellar. But in the previous seven times hes opened majors with two rounds in the 60s, hes gone on to win, which bodes well. Its all setting up for an interesting Saturday. NOTES: Stephen Ames, who missed the cut, is going to re-assess his game after next weeks RBC Canadian Open and that may mean wholesale personnel changes to his entourage. Hell likely part ways with his caddie, Don Donatello, simply because Ames wont be playing much and a caddie needs to eat. And there will likely be a different sports psychologist next year. He is also considering -- stress, that. . . considering -- splitting with Sean Foley because he wants more of the instructors time. The two friends, who are staying together this week in England, will dicuss the situation down the road. Ames said hes only seen Foley seven times this year, which isnt enough for his liking. Depending on how he feels, Ames will end his year in Hamilton cheap jerseys . Meireles, 29, just joined Chelsea last summer from Liverpool, but departs for the Turkish side after completing his switch on Monday night. cheap nfl jerseys . Dmitrij Jaskin added an empty-net goal for the Czech Republic (1-1). Teuvo Teravainen had the lone goal for Finland (1-1). The win by the Czech Republic tightened up the standings in Pool A. http://www.cheapjerseysnflchina.us/[/ur... . Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte face off Saturday in the 400-meter individual medley, a grueling race encompassing all four strokes and an appropriate next chapter in this most intriguing of rivalries. [url=http://www.cheapjerseysnflchina.us/]cheap jerseys from china .C. -- Russ Cochran topped the SAS Championship leaderboard Friday in his return from a back injury, hitting all hit all 18 greens in regulation and shooting a 6-under 66. wholesale nfl jerseys . The 35-year old Pierce became the oldest player in Celtics history to score 40 points in a regulation game, carrying Boston to a 103-91 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.(Sports Network) - The top-seeded Atlanta Falcons got the playoff monkey off their back last weekend and are now one step away from Super Bowl XLVII as they host the NFC Championship Game for the first time in franchise history against the dynamic Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers. Watch the game on CTV and CTV.ca today at 3pm et/Noon pt. Atlanta built a 20-0 first-half lead which was quickly erased by Seattle in the divisional round. The Seahawks Marshawn Lynch nearly capped one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history with a 2-yard touchdown run with 31 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Matt Ryan, however, finally lived up to his nickname "Matty Ice," when it counted. The Pro-Bowler whipped a 22-yard out to Harry Douglas followed by a 19-yarder up the seam to Tony Gonzalez, setting up a 49-yard field goal by Matt Bryant, which sailed through the uprights with eight seconds to play. "Our quarterback is a special player," Falcons coach Mike Smith said. "They call him Matty Ice, but I feel like weve got two Matty Ices. Theres Matty Ice Ryan and Matty Ice Bryant." Ryan passed for 250 yards and three touchdowns, both career highs in the postseason, and earned his first career playoff win as the Falcons advanced to the NFC Championship for the third time in franchise history (1998 and 2004). "I think the one thing that Ive learned in my five years, and specifically in the postseason, is that its hard," Ryan said. "I thought that collectively as a team, and as a coaching staff, nobody flinched. We just kept battling, kept doing what we do, and thats just kind of been the makeup of our team this season." Ryan, who had dropped his first three playoff appearances, finished 24-of-35 with two interceptions, while Michael Turner rushed for 98 yards on 14 carries for the Falcons, who had lost their last four postseason games. "We knew coming into it, it was going to be tough. Thats a very good defense" Ryan said. "Luckily we made enough plays to ccome out with the win.dddddddddddd" San Francisco, meanwhile, advanced to the franchises 14th NFC Championship Game, matching the Dallas Cowboys for the most since 1970 thanks in large part to Kaepernick. The second-year signal-caller set an NFL rushing record for a quarterback with 181 yards and scored twice as San Francisco beat Green Bay, 45-31. Kaepernick, who was born in Milwaukee and grew up as a Packers fan, outplayed reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers and helped the 49ers reach the NFC title tilt for the second straight year. Sam Shields picked off Kaepernicks second pass of the game and returned it 52 yards for a score, but the second-year player took over on the ground by running for touchdowns of 20 and 56 yards. He also completed 17-of-31 passes for 263 yards with a pair of scores to Michael Crabtree, who had nine catches for 119 yards. Frank Gore had 119 yards and a TD on 23 carries. "He does a great job of responding. Hes done that every time hes thrown an interception, safety, or turnover," 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said of Kaepernick. "Hes responded with a scoring drive. Thats a rare quality. Hes shown hes had the ability to come back." The performance by Kaepernick in his first playoff game shredded the previous QB rushing record for any game, set by Michael Vick (173) in 2002. It was also the most rushing yards for the 49ers in their postseason history. "It feels good," Kaepernick said. "Were one step closer to where we want to be. I feel like I had a lot to prove. A lot of people doubted my ability to lead this team." One more win by the 49ers would send them to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1994 season. They lost to the Super Bowl champion New York Giants in the NFC title game last year. San Francisco leads its all-time series with the Falcons 44-29-1 but Atlanta has won four straight and six of nine overall. The two clubs have met just once in the postseason with the Falcons earning a 20-18 win in 1998 en route to its lone Super Bowl appearance. ' ' '