or a point and, in terms of generating excitement, cant compare with a tiebreaker. | Forum

AUBURN, Ala. Nike Zoom Clearance Canada . -- Auburn tailback Kamryn Pettway came into the regular season as a converted fullback who had blocked for the ball carriers in college but never actually been one.He ended it contemplating, at least briefly, a jump to the NFL. In between, the 6-foot, 240-pounder emerged as one of the Southeastern Conferences top running backs when healthy and helped propel the 17th-ranked Tigers to the Sugar Bowl Jan. 2 against No. 7 Oklahoma.For him to step up and play running back and really only be healthy or starting running back for eight of those games and be first-team All-SEC, I think that says a lot, Auburn guard Alex Kozan said. It says all that needs to be said. Hes a hell of a player.Pettways emergence boosted a backfield that had lost three tailbacks from last season to the NFL (Peyton Barber), dismissal (Jovon Robinson) or transfer (Roc Thomas).The Tigers didnt miss them much when Pettway was healthy. He missed two of the final three games with an injury to his left quad and didnt even log a carry in the first game.Or all of last season, for that matter.Pettway wound up rushing for 1,123 yards and averaging a league-best 124.8 yards per game. He felt he could be an elite back entering the season, but his college resume consisted of a redshirt year and, statistically, an 8-yard kick return last season.Pettway said his emergence as an elite SEC back wasnt a surprise to him but adds: I surprised a lot of other people.I believed deep down in my mind that I could, but I mean, everybody else hadnt had a chance to see it, he said. I just felt like I needed an opportunity to show it.The season put Pettway on the radar of some NFL teams as a potential draft pick, but he announced on social media that he planned to return for his fourth season to complete some unfinished business.The married father of 1-year-old daughter Kaisley talked about the decision with his parents and wife Natonya, whom he met as a freshman at Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery, Alabama. That unfinished business includes graduating and presumably proving hes not a one-year wonder.Its my degree for one, but I want to have a good, healthy season, Pettway said. A full, complete season.He returned to action in the regular-season finale against No. 1 Alabama but was held to 17 yards by the nations top defense.Pettway, who was injured at the end of a long run against Vanderbilt , said he was about 90 percent healthy for that game. Now, he and quarterback Sean White (shoulder) are both back and apparently recovered for the Sugar Bowl.Pettway played a starring role in Auburns six-game winning streak that propelled the Tigers into SEC Western Division contention. During the final four games of that stretch, he averaged 30 carries and 192 yards.Now, hes back in the backfield with White and 862-yard rusher Kerryon Johnson, who was also slowed by an ankle injury late in the season.Theyll face a big challenge in the Sooners, who are riding a nine-game winning streak. A healthy backfield certainly helps Auburns chances.It feels great being healthy, Pettway said. Im 100 percent now. I can run full speed, so Im just ready for the bowl game.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 Nike Zoom Canada Sale . The No. 1-ranked Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the Australian Open final, which he lost almost four weeks ago in a major upset against Stanislas Wawrinka. His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months. Nike Air Zoom Canada Online . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation. http://www.wholesalenikezoomcanada.com/ .Y. -- Leading 3-0 with only 11:25 left, the Colorado Avalanche committed a seemingly meaningless penalty to give the New York Islanders a power play. Wimbledon is disappearing in the rearview mirror quickly as the Aug. 6 start date of the tennis competition at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro bears down on us.Here are five things we learned at Wimbledon that, looking ahead, promise to make the action this summer spectacular -- and unpredictable.1. Serena Williams is poised to make Big HistoryAt the start of Wimbledon, a string of question marks still followed her name. Williams wiped them out with a commanding performance. She equaled Steffi Graf as the leader in Open era (starting in 1968) Grand Slam singles championships by securing No. 22. Now in her sights: Margaret Courts all-time record of 24 Grand Slam?singles titles.But Williams has set herself up for an achievement that may have even greater historical resonance. No tennis player, male or female, has won more than one Olympic gold medal in singles. Graf came close, with a gold in 1988 and a silver in 1992. Williams could add a second singles gold as well as a fourth in doubles (partnered with sister Venus). That would certainly make her one of the all-time great Olympians.2. Andy Murray upsets the Big Four applecartThe Big Four may be imploding. Closing quickly on age 35, Roger Federer wasted perhaps his last best chance to win that one more Wimbledon he has alluded to. Rafael Nadal is hurt -- again -- and sounding increasingly pessimistic about his future.Once the bottom member of the Big Four by a significant margin?(behind Federer, Nadal and Novak Djokovic), Murray has been in all three Grand Slam finals this year (he lost to Djokovic at the Australian and French Opens). Djokovic has been to two, failing at Wimbledon.At 29, Murray is acting and talking like hes just approaching his peak, and he has renewed his highly successful relationship with supercoach Ivan Lendl. Everyones time comes in different stages, Murray said after beating?Milos Raonic in the Wimbledon final. Hopefully mine is yet to come.3. The future of the womens game remains wide openBy reaching her second Grand Slam final of the year, 28-year old German Angelique Kerber showed that none of the highly touted young women of the WTA are ready to make a serious run at the top ranking. The most disappointing failure at Wimbledon was that of French Open champ and No. 2 seed Garbine Muguruza. She lost in the second round to Jana Cepelova, saying she had insufficient energy. No. 7 seed Belinda Bencic pulled out of her second-round match with a wrist injury.Ameriican women were particularly disappointing: Coco Vandeweghe failed to take advantage of her recent form and a great draw and lost in the fourth round; No. Nike Air Zoom Canada. 18 seed Sloane Stephens fell just short against Svetlana Kuznetsova?in the third round;?and No. 9 seed Madison Keys lost in the fourth round to No. 5 Simona Halep -- just the kind of player she can and must sweep out of her path if shes headed for the top.4. The British are in a renaissanceGreat Britain seems to be waking from its big sleep as a tennis power, and it probably all owes to Murray and his exploits, starting with his Wimbledon win in 2013.The British have some good young players, led by Kyle Edmund, Johanna Konta?and Heather Watson. Edmund is just 21 but already No. 67 in the ATP rankings. He lost to Adrian Mannarino in the first round at Wimbledon. Konta, 25, lost a three-setter in the second round to Eugenie Bouchard. Watson lost a 12-10 heartbreaker in the first round to Annika Beck, but she went on to win the mixed doubles. Great Britain also was the dominant force in the wheelchair game, with Gordon Reid winning the mens singles.Ill remember this forever, Watson said after she won the mixed with Finnish player Henri Kontinen. Its been a dream of mine since I was a little girl to be a Grand Slam champion. I would take anything, singles, doubles, mixed doubles. Yeah, Ive got one of those now. I mean, Im just really happy.As Arthur Ashe often said, A rising tide lifts all boats. Expect more young British players to come out of the pipeline.5. Wimbledon needs a final-set tiebreakerThe miserable weather, play stoppages and backlog of matches that forced play on Wimbledons ordinarily silent middle Sunday underscored how silly the refusal to institute a final-set tiebreaker is. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had to win three matches in four days, including a 19-17 third-round victory over?John Isner, to reach the quarterfinals (where he fell to Murray).Most players ESPN.com spoke with at Wimbledon like the idea of playing a tiebreaker in the final set at some point (Federer floated the idea of 12-all). Those 19-17, 22-20 and 14-12 fifth-set scores just seem to belabor a point and, in terms of generating excitement, cant compare with a tiebreaker.The ITF took the plunge and adopted the final-set tiebreaker for Davis Cup. Wimbledon should follow suit. ' ' '