1 » new linebacker Will Smith alongside the teams

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- A desert critter saved leader Bubba Watson at least a stroke Saturday in the Phoenix Open. Some pigskin play cost Phil Mickelson to the chagrin of the rowdiest fans in the largest crowd in golf history. The estimated 189,722 in attendance had a lot to see on a sunny, cool day at TPC Scottsdale. Watsons drive on the par-5 13th went into a desert bush and settled next to a burrowing animal hole that would have interfered with his swing, giving him a free drop. "Right next to my ball was a burrowing animal hole and my club was going to hit it at impact," Watson said. "It was big hole and the club would get caught on it. So, I got a free drop and could easily wedge it out." He hit a 150-yard shot to the fairway, followed with a wedge to the fringe and two-putted for par on the way to a 3-under 68 and a two-stroke lead. Without the free drop, he thought he could have played a shorter shot. "I was looking at a 20- or 30-yard shot," Watson said. Mickelson made a double bogey on the par-3 No. 16, the 20,000-seat stadium hole where he "lost focus" thinking about throwing footballs into the crowd. The defending champion half-shanked his tee shot left on the 128-yard hole. He followed with a weak flop shot into the bunker, blasted to 8 feet and two-putted. "It was a gap wedge. It was pathetic," Mickelson said. "I dont even know what to say. I dont remember ever hitting a shot like that even in practice." On the positive side, the former Arizona State player threw some nice spirals and showed no signs of the back pain that forced him to withdraw last week at Torrey Pines. "My brother, who is the ASU golf coach, brought out some ASU footballs that I signed and threw out there," Mickelson said. "I think its the last time Im going to do that, because mentally I was thinking about throwing it a couple holes prior. "It took me out of my element. I hit the worst shot imaginable, and then I followed with four other terrible ones. It was just some of the worst shots imaginable. I just lost focus and I think a lot of it was due to the fact that I have never done something like that on the 16th hole. I thought it was going to be fun." He finished with a 72 to drop to 3 under. Watson was at 15-under 198. Winless since the 2012 Masters, the long-hitting left-hander also scrambled to save par on the par-5 15th, holing a 15-footer after losing another drive to the right. His 7-foot birdie try on 16 stopped on the right edge, but he holed a curling 12-footer for birdie on the short par-4 17th after another drive went far right. He saved par on the par-4 18th after driving over the water into the left rough. "I held it together, stayed focused on what I was trying to do, made nice up-and-down on 17 for birdie," Watson said. "Tough lie on 18 and somehow two-putted to have a little lead. ... Luckily, nobody went crazy on me." He was upset about the pace of play. "The back nine just got real slow and sluggish and I just kind of lost focus a little bit on my tee shots," Watson said. "We need to be under five hours tomorrow. I want to watch the Super Bowl." The tournament set an attendance record for the fourth straight day, breaking the day mark of 179,002 from the third round last year. Since Monday, an estimated 502,776 people have attended the event. The record of 538,356 was set in 2008. "It was packed out there," said Scottsdale resident Kevin Stadler, second after a 67. "Its something you only experience once a year." Ryan Moore had a 64 to join Harris English (69) and Hideki Matsuyama (66) at 12 under, and Jones (72) was 11 under along with Brendan Steele (62) and 2010 winner Hunter Mahan (65). Moore played the back nine in 6-under 30. "Made a couple bonus putts," Moore said. Steele had the best round of the week. "I was just trying to make as many birdies as I could," Steele said. "Its kind of the luxury when you make the cut by a shot. You have more to gain and not much to lose." Canadian Graham DeLaet shot himself up the leaderboard with a 6-under 65. DeLaet, from Weyburn, Sask., is six shots off the pace at 9-under 204. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., shot a 73, and is 13 back at 211. Ecco Mens Shoes Uk . DETROIT LIONS AT ATLANTA FALCONS, 9:30 AM (ET) Detroit - RB Reggie Bush, TE Eric Ebron, TE Joseph Fauria, WR Calvin Johnson, QB Kellen Moore, TE Brandon Pettigrew, OT LaAdrian Waddle Atlanta - CB Javier Arenas, DT Jonathan Babineaux, OT Cameron Bradfield, WR Freddie Martino, QB Sean Renfree, OT Jonathan Scott, LB Tyler Starr SEATTLE SEAHAWKS AT CAROLINA PANTHERS, 1:00 PM (ET) Seattle - DT Jordan Hill, CB Byron Maxwell, OT Andrew McDonald, TE Zach Miller, C Max Unger, LB Bobby Wagner, WR Bryan Walters Carolina - CB Bene Benwikere, LB Chase Blackburn, WR Philly Brown, G Amini Silatolu, G Trai Turner, RB Fozzy Whittaker, RB DeAngelo Williams HOUSTON TEXANS AT TENNESSEE TITANS, 1:00 PM (ET) Houston - OT Jeff Adams, DB Josh Aubrey, LB Brian Cushing, DB Darryl Morris, WR DeVier Posey, QB Tom Savage, LB Jeff Tarpinian Tennessee - RB Antonio Andrews, WR Kris Durham, TE Richard Gordon, DL DaQuan Jones, CB Coty Sensabaugh, OT Will Svitek, TE Taylor Thompson BALTIMORE RAVENS AT CINCINNATI BENGALS, 1:00 PM (ET) Baltimore - CB Chykie Brown, LB Arthur Brown, DL Chris Canty, TE Owen Daniels, G/C Gino Gradkowski, RB Bernard Pierce, OT Jah Reid Cincinnati - RB Rex Burkhead, DE Will Clarke, WR A. Ecco Shoes Sale Clearance . Sam, who joined the Cowboys in early September, has spent the entire season on the practice roster. http://www.cheapeccouk.com/ . -- The Denver Broncos are shuffling their offensive line this off-season and Orlando Franklin provided some insight into their plans Monday by tweeting that hes moving from right tackle to left guard. Ecco Shoes Clearance Uk . - The Oakland Athletics have finalized an agreement on a 10-year extension to play at the Coliseum through the 2024 season. Ecco Shoes Sale Uk . Bjoerndalen, who had failed to win any major race for two years before Sochi, writes in a Facebook entry that he is "full of energy and inspiration" after winning the 10-kilometre sprint and mixed relay at last months Olympics.Even in the midst of a seven-game losing streak, Winnipeg Blue Bombers rookie head coach Mike OShea remains surprisingly calm and composed. Many wonder, especially after a surprising 5-1 start to the season, how — or even why — the first-year field general still keeps his cool. I dont think it does any good to — certainly, you never panic and certainly it does you no good to rant and rave, said OShea ahead of his clubs home finale against the B.C. Lions on Saturday. I think what you need to do, and what Ive always said is, you need to get a good understanding of why things are happening and how you fix them. The how you fix them part has been a little more challenging than maybe I thought. A franchise now removed from a tumultuous and damaging time that is oft-referred as the Joe Mack Era, OShea has been repeatedly clear that his job is to build this team up — not tear them down. What I do know and what Ive maintained — and then maybe this is the reason why I can — is weve got guys who are working extremely hard, he said. Im not watching our players go out on the field and give poor effort — which would be extremely frustrating — which would cause me to react in a different fashion. What I see is a lot of guys working hard and mistakes that pop up. The changes off the field began near-immediately during last off-season, but the on-field changes tasked to OShea and his coordinators, Gary Etcheverry and Marcel Bellefeuille, continue every week. While Winnipegs playoff chances (albeit, slim as can be) remain intact, new players are inserted into the starting lineup on a weekly basis since the beginning of October. This week is no different for the 6-10 club. Its good when youre finally getting comfortable with the system and you can play at a fast speed, said receiver Justin Wilson, who will make his first career professional start in place of injured slotback Nick Moore (knee), just three weeks after signing to Winnipegs practice roster. Its a lot to get used to. Its a little different than the American game, but this is all football at the end oof the day… Ive been talking with (quarterback Drew Willy) a lot after practice, just getting little timing things down.dddddddddddd Last week it was O-lineman Jace Daniels, after spending just 10 days in Canada before getting the start at left tackle for the injured Glenn January. With the veteran January returning from two games off with a back injury, Daniels, assumedly having left a positive impression on the coaching staff in his first pro start, will line up at right tackle for Devin Tyler, who was in a walking-boot this week with turf toe. But personnel arent the only changes. Etcheverrys defence ran some plays with four linebackers and just three down-linemen in practice this week, possibly to get a look at new linebacker Will Smith alongside the teams starting middle linebacker, Ian Wild. Definitely, a lot of guys have been trying to help me out, said Smith, inked to the practice roster just a week before his first CFL game against Calgary on October 18, where he played exclusively on special teams. Ill definitely be helping out a lot more on defence than I was last week. I have a lot more responsibilities on the defensive side of the ball, as well as the special teams aspect. Notes: Demond Washington is out this week with a suspected concussion suffered in a knee-to-helmet collision against Calgary last week. Desia Dunn, formerly the teams starting weak side linebacker, moves to Washingtons halfback spot, while Don Unamba remains on the weak side following an impressive 10-tackle debut where the special-teams ace added an interception… Return specialist Troy Stoudermire, fresh off the six-game injured list where his season was thought to be lost to a toe injury, returns to the lineup this week. Interestingly, the backup defensive back has been seen hanging around the offence while recovering from injury and dawned a white practice jersey along with the rest of the offence this week. Stoudermire was converted to defence in his final year at the University of Minnesota after playing three collegiate seasons as a receiver. ' ' '