dest 1-1 as a Ryder Cup captain.Nicklaus argued against stacking your best players at either the front or the back. Instead, he came up with a compromise: Two of your best players to start, two more in the middle and the last two at the end. He felt that gave his team a chance to build momentum, but a

CHASKA, Minn. -- For those U.S. golf fans imagining what its like to have the Ryder Cup residing in America again, there were always going to be three words of caution:Davis Love III.When the U.S. captain sat down to fill out his lineup for Sundays 12 singles match, he had a healthy -- and rare -- 9 1/2-6 1/2 lead. On paper at least, Love also had a considerably more talented group of individuals. Consider: The average American player would be ranked 16th in the world; his European counterpart, 28th. The Americans have only two rookies; European captain Darren Clarke is saddled with six.But its worth remembering that the numbers were only slightly different heading into the final day the last time Love was in charge of a U.S. squad. That was in 2012 at Medinah, the biggest difference being that his team was leading 10-6. What happened next made golf history:European captain Jose Maria Olazabal front-loaded his best players, while Love took a too-cautious approach. He saved several of his best players for the last few matches, including Tiger Woods as the anchor. The Europeans won the first five matches and the day, 8 1/2-3 1/2, stealing a win and matching the largest comeback ever in the bargain.Love may have learned his lesson. This time around, hes got it right.No secret that they were going to load the boat, he said.And indeed, Clarke did just that, deciding to stash four of his rookies in the last five slots.Anticipating that, and needing only five points to win, Loves lineup looks balanced and very much based on an idea put forth by Jack Nicklaus, the greatest player ever but a more modest 1-1 as a Ryder Cup captain.Nicklaus argued against stacking your best players at either the front or the back. Instead, he came up with a compromise: Two of your best players to start, two more in the middle and the last two at the end. He felt that gave his team a chance to build momentum, but also to slow the other teams, not to mention some insurance if the result turned on the final matches. Love put Patrick Reed, an absolute bulldog at Hazeltine, off first, where hell face Rory McIlroy, Europes hottest player and its emotional leader thus far. Jordan Spieth is at No. 2, drawing British Open champion and Olympic silver medalist Henrik Stenson.From there, the U.S. looks less formidable -- J.B. Holmes, Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker are Nos. 3, 4 and 5, respectively -- but so does Europe, with Clarke forced to start salting in some of his newbies. Rookie Thomas Pieters goes third, followed by Justin Rose and then another rookie, Rafa Cabrera Bello.Phil Mickelson (5-5) and Sergio Garcia (3-4-1) clash at No. 6. Both are veterans with less than distinguished records in singles. But the longer the competition goes, the better the Americans odds look.U.S. rookie Ryan Moore gets Lee Westwood, 0-3 and mired in his worst Ryder Cup performance, at No. 7. Brandt Snedeker goes next against Andy Sullivan, whos appeared only once and has been locked in Europes team room ever since.In fact, the only match in the final four that looks close -- again, on paper -- pits U.S. rookie Brooks Koepka against Masters champion Danny Willett at No. 10.Its worth noting that Love was on both sides of the historic comebacks in singles. He played for the U.S. squad that first pulled off an 8 1/2-3 1/2 stunner. That came at Brookline in 1999, when Ben Crenshaw was his captain.Crenshaw handed in his front-loaded line-up and left the interview room Saturday night down by a 10-6 deficit -- but not before wagging his finger at reporters and saying, Ive got a good feeling about this.In the team room later that evening, future President George W. Bush read the Death or Victory speech given by Col. William Barrett Travis at the Alamo. Thus primed, the Americans piled up wins in the first seven matches and the Ryder Cup enjoyed a rare stay in the United States.Love was asked what might be discussed in his team room Saturday night, including whether what happened at Medinah four years ago would come up.Me bringing it up? In the team room? he asked.No, Love answered his own question a moment later. We keep looking forward.---Jim Litke is a sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org and https://Twitter.com/JimLitke Cheap NBA Jerseys .35 million, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. Plouffe batted .254 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs in 477 at-bats last season, his second as a regular in the lineup. Wholesale Jerseys From China . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed. http://www.nfljerseyscheapwholesalechina.com/ . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . The deal is pending a physical, assistant general manager Bobby Evans said. Traded from Seattle to Baltimore on Aug. 30, Morse also can play first base and right field to give manager Bruce Bochy some flexibility in writing his lineup. Wholesale China Jerseys . MORITZ, Switzerland -- Fog prevented downhill racers from getting their Olympic dress rehearsal. The NFL is continuing to pursue an investigation of players named in an Al-Jazeera report on performance-enhancing drugs and remains at odds with its players association over its right to do so.NFL executive Adolpho Birch sent a letter to the NFLPA on Thursday -- in response to letters the NFLPA sent Tuesday -- asserting the leagues right to investigate its players based on the Al-Jazeera report. Birch disputed the unions claim that the NFL must meet a standard of credible evidence before players James Harrison, Clay Matthews, Julius Peppers and Mike Neal submit to interviews with league investigators.The NFLPAs position ... is fundamentally at odds with the CBA, the Policy on Performance-Enhancing Substances and basic tenets of labor law, Birch, the NFLs senior vice president for labor policy, wrote in Thursdays letter, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN.As explained in my June 3 letter, the report that prompted this investigation depicted what appeared to be a network of businesses and persons describing an intricate scheme to provide athletes in several sports with performance-enhancing and other substances. There can be no rational question that a nationally aired documentary report with potential impact on public confidence in the game of football is a sufficient basis upon which to investigate the totality of those claims, including those pertaining to the NFL players.One of the unions stronger arguments against allowing the investigation is the fact that pharmacist Charlie Sly -- the source for the Al-Jazeera report that implicated the four aforementionedd players, retired quarterback Peyton Manning and athletes from other sports -- has since recanted his remarks.dddddddddddd Birch disputes the relevance of that argument.The fact that statements aired in the report may have been since recanted, while potentially relevant to any ultimate conclusions reached, does not extinguish our need to investigate, Birch wrote. And it is hardly remarkable or dispositive that an individual would publicly disavow statements for which he may be subject to criminal or civil sanctions.Birchs Thursday letter asserts that NFL players have the obligation to cooperate with league investigations and could face discipline for failing to do so -- a point sure to be contested by the other side as this dispute progresses.Notably, none of the letters the union sent earlier this week were on behalf of Manning, who is a former player and could decide to cooperate with the league investigation even as the union defends its current players from having to do so. The NFLPA has been in contact with Manning, whose cooperation could conceivably put the other four players in a difficult position from a public relations standpoint. Some people familiar with his thinking believe he will cooperate.This dispute came to a head earlier this week when Harrison, who has a history of public arguments with the league over discipline matters, said commissioner Roger Goodell would have to go to his house if he wanted to interview him. ' ' '