PARAMUS, N.J. -- The last player to win back-to-back majors in the same season didnt even make it to the FedEx Cup finale at East Lake. "Thats not going to happen," said Rory McIlroy, with a smile. Hes correct, based on simple math. Padraig Harrington won the British Open and PGA Championship in 2008, and just his bad luck, the FedEx Cup was restructured that year in an attempt to create more volatility in the playoff events. It rewarded mediocrity instead. Harrington began the playoffs by missing two straight cuts and soon was eliminated. The system in place the last five years doesnt allow for that. McIlroy is the No. 1 seed when the playoffs get started Thursday at The Barclays, and he is assured of reaching the Tour Championship. But his hopes of cashing in on the $10 million prize are based more on form than a calculator. The 25-year-old from Northern Ireland is coming off three straight victories, and they were big ones -- the British Open, a World Golf Championship and the PGA Championship. He is No. 1 in the world and starting to separate himself from the rest of golf. And hes not interested in getting off this amazing run. "I could just say, Look, Ive had a great year, its been an awesome summer. Im going to just see what happens for the next few weeks and not really work hard," McIlroy said Wednesday. "But I want to finish the season well. I want to be up there in contention week in and week out. I feel like the season I had deserves a finish like that. So Im going to just grind it out every week that I can until I get a bit of a break after the Ryder Cup." Now that the majors are done for the year, the FedEx Cup presents the best four-week stretch in golf -- four tournaments with the best players from the worlds strongest tour competing for a shot at the richest bonus in golf. The Barclays has one of the strongest fields of the year, even though a few players are noticeable by their absence. Tiger Woods was in town this week, but only for corporate work with McIlroy. Woods missed three months of the season recovering from back surgery and hurt his back again in only his third tournament back. He didnt come close to finishing among the top 125 who qualified for the playoffs. Dustin Johnson is No. 6, though he is taking a "voluntary leave" to seek professional help for "personal challenges." Jason Dufner is No. 57, though he is out indefinitely with a neck injury. Steve Stricker is at No. 103 and withdrew because of a hip injury that will turn his part-time schedule into no schedule at all for the next few months. Stricker was a long shot to make the Tour Championship, though this ends his streak of playing in every Tour Championship since the FedEx Cup began in 2007. Phil Mickelson (No. 45) and Hunter Mahan (No. 62) are the others who have made it to East Lake each of the last seven years. As good as McIlroy has been, the playoffs offer no guarantees. The $10 million bonus is based largely on who performs well in the Tour Championship, no matter what theyve done all year or even in the three weeks leading up to it. McIlroy learned that the hard way in 2012, when he was coming off a PGA Championship victory and won back-to-back playoff events. He tied for 10th in the Tour Championship, which Brandt Snedeker won to capture the cup. He doesnt seem to mind. "I still got $3 million for second," McIlroy said. "It is volatile, but it creates excitement at the end of the season when previously there wasnt much excitement. So I dont mind how its loaded. Just means you have to play well right until the end." He has been playing nothing short of great for the last month. "What Rory has done is phenomenal and worthy of all the attention he gets," Adam Scott said. "And I think hes the rightful No. 1 golfer in the world at the moment." Scott is the defending champion at The Barclays, winning a year ago at Liberty National. The Barclays returns to Ridgewood Country Club, a classic course that figures to be a stronger test than what players faced at Valhalla two weeks ago in the final major of the year. The rough is so thick in spots that Jimmy Walker said he nearly couldnt find his golf ball during the pro-am Wednesday just a few paces off the fairway. McIlroy will play the opening two rounds with Walker and Masters champion Bubba Watson, the top three players in the FedEx Cup. The long shot is Robert Allenby, who got the 125th spot by a single point and will need a solid week just to keep playing. The top 100 in the FedEx Cup after The Barclays advance to the second round of the playoffs next week at the TPC Boston. Wholesale Arizona Cardinals Jerseys . Fans can also watch the game on the newly launched TSN GO (currently available to Bell TV and Rogers customers), which gives TSN subscribers the freedom to live stream the networks programming from their smartphones, tablets, and computers at no additional charge – just as they would watch Canadas Sports Leader on TV at home. The following week, MLS ON TSN is at BMO Field in Toronto to deliver live coverage of TFCs home opener vs. D.C. United on Saturday, March 22 at 4:30 p. Arizona Cardinals Jerseys Outlet . Ryu (8-3) allowed a run and three hits in six innings and struck out six in his 13th start. In his first 13 starts last season -- his first in the major leagues -- the left-hander was 8-5 with a 2.85 ERA. This was the ninth time this year that Ryu has allowed fewer than three earned runs, and he is 7-0 in those games. http://www.cardinalscheap.com/98l-cheap-...-cardinals.html. New York then missed its next six shots and scored only two points the rest of the night. The Los Angeles Clippers defence and the Knicks general ineptitude both played a role in the unsurprising finish to a meeting of two teams headed in opposite directions. Arizona Cardinals Byron Murphy Jersey .Y. Islanders 4Winnipeg 5 Dallas 2Nashville 3 Colorado 0San Jose 5 Edmonton 2---AHLProvidence 5 St. Johns 4 (OT)Chicago 6 San Antonio 2---NBACleveland 105 Toronto 101Portland 98 Detroit 86New Orleans 104 New York 93Oklahoma City 114 Milwaukee 101Memphis 114 Dallas 105Miami 103 Phoenix 97Utah 100 San Antonio 96L. Cheap Arizona Cardinals Jerseys Online . Specifically, thumbs up to the Canadian-based teams in the NHL, or at least most of them.The last 48 hours have been a perfect example of how Jason Spezza is the most polarizing figure on the Senators roster. On Monday night, many fans in this city placed the blame squarely on the captain for his role in the James Neal overtime winner against the Pittsburgh Penguins. But the very next night, Spezza answered his critics with a clutch three-point performance that included a pair of beautiful assists in a stunning 5-4 shootout victory over the St. Louis Blues. On both nights, our radio station was flooded with calls and e-mails from fans wanting to talk about Spezza. The first night we heard from his detractors and, on the second, we heard from his defenders. Its a predictable pattern with the fans here in Ottawa. When Spezza plays poorly, his critics say you cannot win with him. When he generates offence, the negative comments disappear into the cold night air. There is no arguing that Spezza has had a rough season in 2013-14. In many ways, Spezza is having a similar season to Eric Staal in Carolina. Staal has 14 goals and 44 points and was left off Team Canadas roster because of his slow start. Spezza has 15 goals and 42 points – numbers that look awfully similar to Staals. The Sens captain sits 24th in scoring amongst centremen in the NHL, a ranking that suggests that he is still a legitimate number-one centre in a 30-team league. Spezza is also only one point behind Kyle Turris on the team scoring list without the luxury of playing with the same quality of linemates so far this season. And while everyone can agree that Turris is trending upwards, most believe that the opposite is true for Spezza. Those who are into analytics have been trumpeting Spezzas poor Corsi numbers all season long as tangible proof of his declining skills. After Monday nights loss, where Spezza failed to clear the puck ouut of his own zone, many fans who arent into advanced stats said they had reached their breaking point with the captain.dddddddddddd We were bombarded with "Trade Spezza" e-mails and calls and there seemed like a growing distaste for his style of play in Ottawa. One of the most common complaints I heard from fans is that Spezza needs to earn his $7 million salary. But what fans need to remember about Spezza is that his contract is set up very favorably for next season. While he carries a cap hit of $7 million, he will actually only get paid $4 million in actual money for the 2014-15 campaign. (Spezza is being paid $5 million this season as his front-loaded contract starts to decline). And for a team like Ottawa that is desperate to reach the salary cap floor, this contract is an absolute dream. For next season, the Sens are getting $3 million of salary cap space eaten up for nothing. If the Sens were a spend-to-the-cap team, this deal would be an issue for them, but the exact opposite is true and that is why I would expect the Senators to hang onto their captain. He gives them $7 million of salary cap space for the price of $4 million. And now ask yourself this important question: Would you pay Jason Spezza $4 million to play next season? Of course you would. In a world where the oft-injured Martin Havlat will be making $6 million next season and Mike Ribeiro will be making $5.5 million, Spezza is absolutely a bargain at $4 million in real dollars. He wont even rank among the top 50 forwards in salary next season. As his salary is lowered, perhaps the expectations on Spezza could follow suit. He is 30 years old and no longer surrounded by snipers like Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson. But at $4 million dollars next season, Jason Spezza will be worth every penny that he is paid. 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