led after the opening round, was playin | Forum

MINNEAPOLIS -- One game was difficult enough for Mike Zimmer to miss. Pittsburgh Penguins Gear .He sure didnt want to sit out longer than that, even after major eye surgery.The hard-driving head coach has returned to work with the Minnesota Vikings, who announced on Monday that Zimmer is expected to travel with the team this weekend to Jacksonville.Thats a three-hour flight, a little bit more than a week after Zimmer had an emergency operation to repair a detached retina, but the Vikings (6-6) wouldnt have proactively declared him fit for the job again if there were still uncertainty about his status for the game on Sunday against the Jaguars (2-10).The matchup with a team with the third-worst record in the NFL has taken on an extra measure of significance, given the freefall Minnesota has experienced since a league-leading 5-0 start. The Vikings have dropped in the NFC North two games behind Detroit, which owns the division tiebreaker with a season sweep, and theyre on the outside of the race for two wild card spots. The 17-15 loss to Dallas on Thursday, with special teams coordinator Mike Priefer running the team in Zimmers absence, was their sixth in the last seven games.Vikings players had four days off after their second consecutive Thursday game and will reconvene for practice on Tuesday. Zimmers first news conference upon his return is scheduled for Wednesday. Zimmer had two surgeries on his right eye about a month ago, but his recovery was sidetracked last Wednesday when he developed vision trouble during practice and was sent for surgery that night. He had a fourth procedure on Friday, according to an ESPN report.Befitting his classic old-school personality, whose late father was a longtime high school football coach in the Chicago area, Zimmer was spending longer days than usual on the job last month, often arriving at work around 4:15 a.m. if he didnt sleep in the office the night before in an attempt to help the Vikings stop their slide.General manager Rick Spielman said Zimmers setback was unrelated to his unrelenting dedication to the job after the problem first surfaced in late October. Spielman, though, said he spoke with Zimmer last week about keeping perspective when the prospect of him missing a game surfaced.We had some pretty significant talks, one-on-one, heart-to-heart, on what is important in life and what isnt, Spielman said. I think after we met, I expressed to him specifically, that potentially going blind in one eye is not worth one game in the NFL. We have to look out for your long-term health.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Zach Aston-Reese Jersey . -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats. Juuso Riikola Jersey . Bryzgalov stopped 25 shots on Saturday in the Oklahoma City Barons 4-1 victory over the Abbotsford Heat. The Oilers signed Bryzgalov to a one-year $2 million contract last Friday after shedding payroll by dealing defenceman Ladislav Smid to the Flames. https:///...jersey-penguins.html . -- Patrick Reed got an early start in golf. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Stacy Lewis made 11 birdies on Thursday to match the low score at Olympic Golf Course with an 8-under 63, putting her right in the mix for a gold medal in womens golf.As well as a low score, Lewis had red shoulders by the end of a sunny day. She always wears short sleeves, but her Team USA uniform didnt fit. Her only option was to go with the sleeveless version, which showed off shoulders that never get any sun.She still had a patriotic look, walking to the first tee with a blue shirt and white shoulders that turned red by days end.The American had no complaints about her golf or her position at the halfway point of the first Olympic womens golf competition since 1900. Lewis was one shot behind South Koreas Inbee Park, who birdied her last two holes for another 5-under 66 and the 36-hole lead.Charley Hull kept alive British hopes for a gold-medal sweep in golf with a 66 that left her two shots behind Park.Lewis piled up the birdies, finishing with four in a row, the last one the most unlikely. Her tee shot on the par-5 18th failed by a foot to clear a bunker, and the ball stayed on the steep slope of soft sand.I would have taken par and ran to the clubhouse, Lewis said.Instead, she hit one of her best shots with a 7-iron to advance it down the fairway, and then did even better with a hybrid from 199 yards to 4 feet for her 63.I was just trying to get a third shot after that lie in the bunker, Lewis said. I hit the shot of the week there.Marcus Fraser of Australia also shot a 63 in the opening round of the mens competition last week on a course set up about 900 yards longer.Lewis had no idea how many birdies she made or even how low she had shot until signing her card. All that mattered was a chance to win gold in what she considers the biggest week of her year -- next to her marriage Aug. 6 to Houston womens golf coach Gerrod Caldwell.A former No. 1 in the world, Lewis has gone more than two years since her llast victory. Tristan Jarry Jersey. . She was irritated with her swing during the opening round and even after her practice session Thursday morning. Seeing a lot of putts go in can change everything.But it was her one bad hole that enabled Lewis to finish so well. Tied for the lead after a birdie on the 13th, she hit 4-iron into the bunker on the par-3 14th and blasted out weakly to 25 feet. After seeing so many putts go in, she charged her par putt about 4 feet by the hole and missed that one, taking double-bogey.I was a little bit mad after the double on 14 and got my focus back instead of going the other way, she said.She birdied the next two holes, then converted a 25-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the 17th and finished with her best birdie of the round.Park made her first bogey of the tournament on No. 7, but that was the only green she missed. She missed a 5-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole, and then converted birdies on the last two to reach 10-under 132. She figures to be a big part of the final two rounds the way she has kept the ball in play.Im going to try to keep calm as much as I can, she said. Im confident with everything, but I dont want to put too much pressure on myself.Hull didnt arrive in Rio until Sunday night and wasnt at the golf course when Justin Rose won golfs first Olympic gold since 1904 with a birdie on the final hole to defeat British Open champion Henrik Stenson.Lagging behind was Lydia Ko, the No. 1 player in the world and the favorite coming into the week. She could muster only a 70 and was seven shots out of the lead. Ariya Jutanugarn, who led after the opening round, was playing with Lewis and couldnt keep up. She shot a 72 and fell five shots out of the lead.The surprise was Aditi Ashok, the 18-year-old from India who had another 68 and was four shots out of the lead. ' ' '