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RIO DE JANEIRO -- At times, Victoria Lovelady has to pause to take it all in. The Olympic Games are in her home country of Brazil, golf has returned to the Olympics for the first time since 1904, and she was fortunate enough to qualify.Although the mens tournament is being played this week at the Olympic Golf Course, Lovelady, 29, was on site to practice and play, one of the neat aspects to the event that saw a smattering of the women at the venue Monday.Adding to the experience was the fact that Lovelady was asked to play a practice round with Germanys Martin Kaymer and Spains Rafael Cabrera-Bello.Oh my goodness, Lovelady gushed prior to hitting off the 10th tee. When I found out the Olympics was going to be in Brazil and that golf was coming back, it became part of my daily mental routine. There was not one day I didnt think about the Olympics. I was finishing college at the time.My whole motivation to turn pro after college was based on the Olympics. I was ready to turn pro and pursue my dream of playing in the Olympics. Its been a huge goal for me.Lovelady, who played college golf at USC when she went by her maiden name Victoria Alimonda, is a perfect example of how golfs return to the Olympics has been an inspiration. Lovelady has yet to make the LPGA Tour in two tries and this year is competing on the Ladies European Tour, where travel is difficult and purses are sparse..@RickieFowler and @vic_brasil_golf hammed it up after practice round @Rio2016_en on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/nsz4MKsYxL- USA GOLF (@USAGolf) August 8, 2016But she kept after it because of the Olympics, and scrambled to earn world ranking points when it was coming down to the wire for qualification last month. Only one Brazilian golfer was guaranteed a spot in the field (same for the men), so Lovelady was not a lock. She was running close to the other Brazilian golfer in the womens field, Miriam Nagl, and in the end they both made it.It was a super adventure, said Lovelady, who will begin the competition on Aug. 17. All because of the importance I gave to the Olympics being in Brazil, golf coming back to my country. I dont know what Id be doing with myself right now if I wasnt here. For the past year, every day somebody asked me, Are you going to the Olympics? I thought, My God, Ive got to be there. Not only for my personal goal but also the whole vibe around me. And being one of the only Brazilians on tour. That topic was a hot question.Lovelady took up golf at age 12 due to the influence of her grandfather and father, who was the rare person in Brazil who was a member of a private club. She earned a scholarship to USC after spending time in California as an exchange student, where I was able to study and play golf at the same time, she said. Brazil has some 200 million people but only about 20,000 golfers. You have to have a golf tradition in your family, she noted, something Lovelady said she hopes the Olympics will help change.The Olympic Golf Course, which she described as one of the best courses Ive played in my life, is the first public course ever in Rio. The course is brand-new and was built especially for then Games. How it is treated, and how the public has access to it after the Olympics, will go a long way toward more people becoming interested in the game.There will be more curiosity, more access, she said. I hope it opens up more opportunities.For now, Lovelady is taking advantage of hers. Monday was the last day she could practice on the course until next Monday, two days prior to the first round of the womens competition.But the women are allowed to use all of the practice facilities here throughout the week. And it will be a time to enjoy everything that comes with it.The opening ceremony was literally the best moment of my life, she said. It was beautiful. To be able to be received by so many people in my country. We were singing the anthem and chanting. And one of the cool things was I saw my dad in the first row. He called out my name and all of a sudden I see him, and hes hugging me. He played such an important role in my athletic life.And that would not have happened if the Olympics were somewhere else. Leighton Vander Esch Jersey . PAUL, Minn. Connor McGovern Jersey . Datsyuk will miss Tuesdays game against New Jersey and could be sidelined longer, while Cleary will likely miss at least the next three games. Its been an injury-plagued season for Datsyuk, who has suited up for just 39 games. http://www.shoptheofficialcowboys.com/Elite-Robert-Newhouse-Cowboys-Jersey/ . Canada is now down to its 22-player limit, although but players wont be registered until Christmas Day. 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CHICAGO -- The Cubs may have been waiting 108 years for the World Series but Ireland are looking to end an even longer drought in the same city this weekend when they face the All Blacks at Soldier Field.Ultan Dillane, the 22-year-old Connacht and Ireland second-row, was in bullish mood talking down any notion of New Zealand having an air of invincibility ahead of this weekends Test in Chicago.Instead Dillane, who has five caps, sees an opportunity for an upset and avenues to exploit within the New Zealand ranks despite the worlds No. 1 side being on an 18-match winning run and having never lost a Test to Ireland since their first meeting in 1905.There is evident quality but they are only human at the end of the day, Dillane said. They do have weaknesses. We are looking to exploit them.They have 18 wins in a row and clearly they have been hyped up as favourites and all that. But there is a lot of pressure on them to maintain that streak. Us going in as underdogs, we see that as an opportunity to upset them. We hope to create a bit of history.We dont think they are invincible. They do have weaknesses. We will try and exploit those.There is an air of nervous expectation in Chicago. The Cubs 9-3 win over the Indians on Tuesday evening drew the World Series level at 3-3 and with the title-deciding match on Wednesday the city is in a baseball frenzy.The Cubs emblem adorns every bar and if you walk into a café or a restaurant, you will be met by a wealth of Cubs merchandise on the wall and on locals backs.ddddddddddddA win would end a 108-year World Series drought but Ireland are looking to settle some of their own personal scores having suffered the most agonising of defeats in the last meeting back in 2013.Ryan Crotty, the All Blacks centre, was asked about that November day in 2013 where Ireland were at one stage 19-0 up only for the Kiwis to claw their way back with Crotty scoring in extra time to draw the match level and Aaron Cruden then kicking the Test-winning conversion.Yeah, since that Ive pretty much had to apologise to every Irishman Ive met since that day, Crotty said on Tuesday with more than a hint of mischief.Though parallels between this Ireland crop and the 2013 class are far-fetched given seven of that squad have retired -- Dillane watched the match at home -- there is an urgency about the Irish to get a long-awaited win over New Zealand and what better way to mark it than in some form of a remarkable double with the Cubs.It would be cool, wouldnt it? The city is really excited, Dillane said. We went for a stroll this morning. There is some serious support.Whatever happens, well try to create that history.To play statistically the best team in the world is definitely a huge opportunity and the excitement is 100 per cent there in everyone in the whole squad. ' ' '