Golfer Jason Day Collapses at the US Open;The Band

Australian golfer Jason Day collapsed from a dizzy spell at the eighteenth hole,casting a pall on the second round of the US Open Championship at Chambers Bay in University Place,Washington on the Puget Sound.Day fell to the ground and was reached by medical personnel in about five minutes,who helped him get to his feet and complete his round with a two under par 70,in a good position for the two remaining rounds,should his health permit.
For the past month or so,Day has been complaining of intermittent vertigo,but a battery of medical tests revealed nothing out of the ordinary.Supported by medics on either side,Day was able to sign his scorecard to officially register his round,then retreated to his mobile home parked on site.Tiger Woods said he will call Day to see how he is.
As of time of publication,Americans Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth topped the leaderboard along with Henrik Stenson of Sweden at five under par.*
Tonight is featured another track by the Canadian-American group The Band,"Across The Great Divide." The Band originated as the backing group for American singer Ronnie Hawkins,who took his drummer Levon Helms with him up to Toronto from Arkansas because the pay was better there.He recruited Canadian musicians guitarist Robbie Robertson,organist Garth Hudson,bassist Richard Danko and pianist Richard Manuel.All of them played other instruments as well ranging from string bass to trombone.Eventually,the musicians tired of Hawkins and his restrictions,at the same time growing closer into an independent act,what with four of them being Canadians and all five having distinctive musical personalities.
Ironically,though most of the members were Canadians,The Band's music was often obsessed with Americana and American historical themes such as the Civil War and the Old West.
Before starting The Band,however,they were recruited again in 1964 to serve as Bob Dylan's backing band when they did some recording with Dylan's producer Bob Johnston in New York.In 1968,they released their first LP "Music From Big Pink" as The Band.The Band continued to work with Bob Dylan off and on,recording "The Basement Tapes" with him in 1967,which was illegally released as a bootleg recording and admired by college students.They also toured with him and backed him again on his "Planet Waves" album,in between their own projects.In 1976,lead guitarist and principal songwriter Robbie Robertson left The Band to pursue a solo career as recording artist,film score composer and music supervisor in Hollywood.He worked closely with his good friend the eminent director Martin Scorsese on several film projects.
Robertson,whose real name is Jaime Royal Robertson,will be 72 on 5 July.He is an aboriginal Canadian on his mother's side,who was a Mohawk from the Six Nations Reservation.He became increasingly involved with his aboriginal roots as time passed,absorbing aboriginal musical influences and culture.
Robertson purchased the rights to The Band's material from the other members and became the group's curator.
The other members of The Band continued on with new personnel until Richard Danko's death in 1999.Richard Manuel committed suicide in 1986;Rick Danko died of heart failure in 1999;and Levon Helms died of throat cancer in 2012.Hudson and Robertson remained active in their solo careers.

US Open 2013 Golf Special

After two rounds at the US Open at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore,Pennsylvania,veteran golfer Phil Mickelson,who turns 43 on Sunday,and Billy Horschel,26,top the leader board of the 113th national championship.The course is playing extremely tough in its old age.On Friday,it was virtually a birdie-free zone.
Mickelson was a case in point,with his only birdie of the day being the eighteenth hole,bringing him back to first place,tied with Horschel,after several holes at even par.I wasn't expecting to birdie there,Mickelson said,I thought I would par.The US Open trophy has so far eluded him,although he has come in second five times.
Horschel was amazingly accurate,hitting every green in regulation for a total of 31 out of 36 in the first two rounds.Clearly the Floridian will not be disappearing anytime soon,with his stated ambition of becoming one of the world's best golfers.
The leaders after two rounds:
Billy Horschel(USA) -1
Phil Mickelson(USA) -1
Luke Donald(ENG) E
Steve Stricker(USA) E
Justin Rose(ENG) E
Ian Poulter(ENG) E
Cheng Tsung Pan(TAI) E
John Senden(AUS) +1
Nicolas Colsaerts(BEL) +1
Charley Hoffman(USA) +1
USGA Executive Director Mike Davis said Merion has always been tough on the score side.It forces you to think.Great architecture yields great golf.
World Golf Hall of Fame member Colin Montgomerie said it was amazing for Mickelson to still have that hunger to try and win a grand slam,to birdie the hardest hole on the course at the end of a long,hard day.
I think the winner so far has been Merion.There's no question about that.It's amazing how the greens have stopped people from scoring.They are as tough as the greens at Augusta.
I think adaptation was the key this week.I don't feel the players have adapted.You've got to adapt to the conditions.This course is one of the best.It has everything.You have options.It's one fantastic golf course.
Update:In Saturday's third round,Phil Mickelson took sole possession of the lead with his 1 under par 70.
The course continued to evoke frustration,but Mickelson overrode this with his determination and experience,scoring three birdies-an improvement over his one birdie in the second round.Charl Schwartzel,Hunter Mahan and Steve Stricker shared second at even par.

Simply Sports:From the NBA to Cricket

The NBA's very long season is winding its way to a conclusion as the San Antonio Spurs lead the Miami Heat 1 game-0 in the championship series.The second game is Sunday night at 8pm Eastern on ABC.
The media focus is on Heat superstar LeBron James,who disappointed many in the first game with a performance that was rather poor by his very high standards.He only scored 18 points-his lowest total in the 2013 NBA Playoffs.He did log 18 rebounds and 10 assists,however.Is he worn out?
In cricket,West Indies defeated Pakistan by a score of 172/8(40.04 ov) to 170/10(48 ov).On Saturday,Australia takes on England.
The College World Series is slogging through the Super Regional round of sixteen on the Road to Omaha.Two games were postponed for inclement weather Friday.The results that did come in:UCLA 5,Cal State Fullerton 3;Louisiana State 2,Oklahoma 0.A full slate of eight games will played Saturday.
At the FedEx St.Jude Classic in Memphis,Tennessee,American Harris English,who will be 24 in July,seized the leader board with his excellent 10 under par 64.English is a University of Georgia alumnus in his second year on the PGA Tour.He has three top ten finishes so far in 2013,including sixth at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans,and is 69th on the money list.
The only well-known figure in the top positions on the leader board of the St.Jude Classic is Ian Poulter of England ,who is sharing tenth place with a number of others.Most of the golf stars are elsewhere getting ready for next weekend's national championship,the US Open,being held this year on a course with a reputation for being short,Merion Golf Club in Ardmore,Pennsylvania.
Update:In cricket,it was England defeating Australia by a score of 269/6(50 ov) to 221/9(50 ov).Sri Lanka will meet New Zealand on Sunday.
At the FedEx St.Jude Classic,Phil Mickelson surged up the leader board to sixth place with his strong third round seven under par 65.