Avril Lavigne Releases New Video;Jimenez Leads in Thailand Golf

It hasn't been easy for Avril Lavigne lately,the Canadian singer/songwriter who has been reaching the record charts for more than a decade now.In December 2014,she announced to her fans that she hasn't been feeling well and asked them for their prayers.A private person,she didn't specify the illness.On top of that,her marriage to fellow rock star Chad Kroeger is reportedly on the rocks.
In spite of this,the Ontario native has made a new Vevo music video for her single "Give You What You Like,"which is interspliced with footage from the Lifetime TV movie "Babysitter's Black Book,"about a group of young girls who turn their babysitting business into a prostitution ring to make more money.
Avril turned 30 last September.The recording artist,who is petite at 5'1" tall,also has a perfume called "Wild Rose" and a clothing line known as "Abbey Dawn."She is on her second marriage and just tweeted that she thinks it may be time for her to get a little doggie,now she has the time.*
In Huan Hin Thailand,51-year-old Miguel Angel Jimenez,the oldest man to ever win a tournament on the European tour,is in the lead after two rounds of the True Thailand Classic presented by Black Mountain.Jimenez,who won twice on the European Tour last season at the age of 50,started 2015 with a win on the Champions Tour.He shot an excellent 11 under par 66 today,including seven birdies and one bogey.
I'm very happy,Jimenez said.I am very disappointed to make bogey on the last,but overall I played very solid and made a lot of birdies.I have the flu and I'm very bunged up and slept terribly last night,but apart from that,I'm fine.*
Indeed,Jimenez made an eagle at the ninth hole in the first round.The tournament is being held at the Black Mountain Golf Club.

Weekend Results:Motorsport and Golf

Australian driver Will Power took the top spot on the podium Sunday at the Indycar Series ABC Supply Wisconsin 250 on the Milwaukee Mile oval.I didn't even think of points,Power said.I just put my head down and felt the car.*
Columbian Juan Pablo Montoya came in second,while Brazilian Tony Kanaan was third.Power,who has never won the Indycar Series championship,also leads in the overall points standings,followed by Helio Castroneves of Brazil and France's Simon Pagenaud.
There are two races left in the 2014 season.*
In LPGA golf,South Korean Inbee Park won the Wegman's LPGA Championship with her eleven under par 70 in Rochester,New York,defeating American Brittany Lincicome in a one hole playoff.It is the World Number One's fifth major win and her fourth major in the last two years.*
On the Champions Tour,German Bernhard Langer won his fifth tournament of the season at the Dick's Sporting Goods Open in Endicott,New York.Langer came from four strokes behind to shoot a sixteen under par 66,caddied by his daughter Christina,a college golfer.The win gives him a 633 point lead in the race for the Charles Schwab Cup,which he won in 2010.

Rolling Stones Ready for Europe;Champions Tour Golf

The entertainment sack is bulging this weekend,Memorial Day weekend in the United States.We have songs by artists old and new,as well as a new Rolling Stones promo and a film trailer.The film trailer is for "Interstellar," a science fiction adventure starring Oscar winner Matthew McConaughy.The film is scheduled for a November 2014 release.*
The new promo is for the Rolling Stones' 14 On Fire Tour.It is a film clip from the Abu Dhabi show that launched the Asian stage of the tour.There are snippets of the songs "Angie" and "Tumbling Dice."
Catch the studio track of "Angie" in a slide show posted here.The track features a strings arrangement with acoustic guitar.The Stones also have this soft side of their music,let's not forget.It's not all rockers.
Stage 2 of the 14 On Fire Tour starts Monday.
Upcoming tour dates are:
26 May-Telenor Arena,Oslo,Norway
29 May-Rock in Rio Festival,Lisbon,Portugal
1 June-Letzigrund Stadium,Zurich,Switzerland
4 June-Park Hayarkon,Tel Aviv,Israel
As shown in the promo,the Stones are still in the moment and hitting their notes.They wouldn't settle for anything less.*
We also have some more Tom Petty tonight in "Refugee."It's the official,original video with remastered audio bringing it into the 21st century.*
Emerging artist Lauryn Vyce's real name is Lauren Vogel and she hails from St.Louis,Missouri,although she now lives in Los Angeles.A 2011 graduate of Indiana University,her highly melodic "Fallin'" is posted tonight.The track is available on iTunes.Lauryn's EP "Secret's Out" is also out on soundcloud.com.She is a fan of New Zealand singer songwriter Lorde.*
In golf,the PGA Senior Championship presented by KitchenAid is underway at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor,Michigan.There's a six-way tie for first place at four under par,with German Bernhard Langer,Colin Montgomerie of Scotland and American Tom Watson among those topping the leader board of this major tournament of the Champions Tour.With his two wins so far,Langer leads the standings of the season-long Charles Schwab Cup.*
Happy Memorial Day.Have a safe holiday weekend,the unofficial start of the summer season.

Montreal and Valais Golf

Windy conditions hindered golfers in Montreal as the Champions League's Montreal Championship got underway at Club de Golf Richlieu Vercheres/Vallee Du Richlieu Rouville.The narrowness of the course increased the difficulty even more for the veteran golfers.
1.Dick Mast USA -3
2.Kenny Perry USA -2
3.Bernhard Langer GER -1
Mark Brooks USA -1
Mike Reid USA -1
Tom Perniece USA -1
David Frost RSA -1
4.Jim Carter USA E
Anders Forsbrand SWE E
Bill Glasson USA E
In Switzerland,the second round of the European Tour's Omega European Masters on The Race To Dubai was held at the historic Crans-Sur-Sierre Golf Club in Crans Montana,Valais.Opened in 1906,the tough course saw the late Seve Ballesteros win three times in the Switzerland High Alps at 5,000 feet altitude.There are also 8,000 km of hiking trails in the area and skiing in winter.
1.Stephen Gallacher SCT -10
Thomas Bjorn DEN -10
2.Richard Finch ENG -9
Miguel Jimenez ESP -9
Danny Willett ENG -9
Victor Dubuisson FRA -9
3.Mark Tullo CHI -8
Anirban Lahiri IND -8
Brooks Koepka USA -8
Next Thursday,the FedEx Cup Playoffs resume with the BMW Championship near Chicago.Henrik Stenson of Sweden is the points leader after two events.
Update:Hall of Fame golfer Bernhard Langer of Germany took the lead at the Montreal Championship Saturday,while Scotsman Craig Lee surged to the top of the Omega European Masters in Crans Montana,Swtzerland.

NCAA March Madness Surprises;Fallen Oaks Golf

The experts are being proved wrong at the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament,which rivets sports fans' attention this time of year.Former NBA star and TBS commentator Charles Barkley says it is the most wide open NCAA Tournament he has ever seen.Friday's upsets:
12 Mississippi 57,5 Wisconsin 46
9 Temple 76,8 NC State 72;
13 La Salle 63,4 Kansas State 61
15 Florida Gulf Coast 78,2 Georgetown 68
10 Iowa State 76,7 Notre Dame 58
11 Minnesota 83,6 UCLA 63
At the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic at the Fallen Oak Golf Course near Biloxi,windy conditions confronted the Champions Tour golfers,a brisk breeze whipping the flags.Topping the first round leader board and sharing first place at three under par were:
Hal Sutton(USA)
Steve Elkington(Australia)
Corey Pavin(USA)
Roger Chapman(Kenya)
A rare tornado hit Australia at Mulwala,New South Wales.The twister tossed large chunks of debris around.Only about 16 tornadoes a year occur in Australia,near the coastline.Southern Hemisphere tornadoes swirl in a clockwise direction,while Northern Hemisphere cyclones blow counterclockwise,The Weather Channel pointed out.

Frost Leads Toshiba Classic;Early Wildfire Scorches Colorado

South African David Frost shot an excellent,bogey-free eight under par 63 Friday to top the leader board at the Toshiba Classic at Newport Beach Country Club,California.Second in the Champions Tour event was the ever-popular Fred Couples,who has 15 career wins on the PGA Tour,with his seven under par 64.Couples appears in several TV commercials.
German Bernhard Langer,who currently leads the Charles Schwab Cup race after three events,made a strong comeback after firing off two eagles,one of them at the eighteenth hole,to bring himself within three strokes of the lead with a four under par 67.
I played well at the end of last year-solid golf,Langer said.Today was a continuation of that-plus I had a bit of luck here and there as well.I just tried to judge the distance right at the eighteenth.
Tom Watson finished the first round at one under par.
A small early season wildfire is scorching an area of difficult terrain near Fort Collins,Colorado.About 40 residents of the Buckhorn Canyon area,which is some 13 miles west of Horsetooth Reservoir,were evacuated from the 25 acre blaze in 50 mile an hour winds.No injuries were reported.
Meanwhile,another wildfire broke out near Peyton,northwest of Colorado Springs.Residents there were advised to evacuate as well,but the fire was 75% contained,the Colorado Springs Gazette said.
Arizona officials are concerned that the cold,wet winter has resulted in overgrown grasses that will ignite in the hot,dry summer ahead.There could be a bad fire season from April-June,The Weather Channel reported.
Toshiba Corp.(TOSBF)

Californians Feel Japan Quake Aftermath

Californians were hit in the pocketbook by the Japan earthquake's attendant tsunami Friday.Millions of dollars of damage were done to harbors and boats along the SoCal coast by the powerful waves rippling off the Pacific.Docks were ripped from harbors in both California and Oregon,and dozens of boats were lost to the aquatic aftereffects of the Asian earthquake.
One California man was missing at sea and feared dead by the U.S. Coast Guard,having been swept away by the tsunami.The town of Newport Beach warned residents by robocalls Friday morning and closed Newport Beach Elementary School,but gave the all clear Friday afternoon.
The Toshiba Classic golf tournament,part of the Champions Tour of senior pro golfers,went ahead as scheduled at the Newport Beach Country Club.South African Nick Price led the field with a first round 60 for a -11,while German Bernhard Langer,the defending Charles Schwab Cup champion,tied for second with three Americans:Mark O'Meara,Mark Wiebe and Brad Bryant,all having shot 65s for -6s.
Though finishing up for the day,stocks drifted lower for the week,hurt by renewed European debt fears,the Libyan civil war and Japan's killer quake,with the S&P giving up 1.30.In the futures market Friday evening,the S&P rose a strong 11.70,and 10 year Treasury bond prices fell as the optimism from Friday's late trading carried over to Monday's prospects.

Team USA Holds Slight Lead

Team USA holds a slight lead over Team Europe at the Ryder Cup,which is being played at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport,Wales.Play was suspended after rain delays pushed the matches into dusk.It will resume at 3:00 am Eastern.The crowd was boisterous nonetheless at one of the year's most unique tournaments,a team event for a highly individual sport.Team USA led in two of the matches,while Team Europe led in one,and the other was tied.
At the Viking Classic,the first of the PGA's Fall Series tournaments,American Bill Haas and Brendon de Jonge of Zimbabwe shared the lead after the second round,both having shot 66s for a -12.American Michael Allen and Australian Nathan Green shared third place at nine under par.The Viking Classic is being held at the Annandale Country Club in Madison,Mississippi.
Meanwhile,the veteran golfers of the Champions Tour continue their quest for the Charles Schwab Cup at the Ensure Classic at Rock Barn Golf&Spa in North Carolina.Australian Peter Senior tops the leader board,shooting a 65 today for a -7.German Bernhard Langer,53,currently far ahead in the cup standings,shared a -6 with Americans Tom Kite and Fred Couples,all having shot 66s.
In baseball,the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres began a critical series in San Francisco.It will determine the NL West champion.The Giants only need one more win to clinch the division title,while the Padres need to win all three games.The Padres were leading 1-0 at the top of the third inning.
Stock futures pointed to a moderately higher Monday opening this evening,with the Dow futures up 45.00,while the S&P futures rose 5.60.Bond futures were flat.Earnings season begins in the traditional way on Thursday,with Alcoa reporting its Q3 results.
Alcoa(AA)