Wir suchen Dich! » out on a side field during practice on Monday.

ARDMORE, Pa. -- He was the smiling kid with his dad on the bag in his first U.S. Open, eager to be himself and not the guy he was following. Matt Kuchar never expected to be the next Tiger Woods, mostly because even then he knew it wasnt possible. Winning the U.S. Amateur a year after Woods recorded his third straight amateur title got him into the 1998 Open, but it would be a long time before the two were in the same conversation again. TSNs live coverage of the U.S. Open begins with the first round, Thursday morning at 9am et/6am pt. You can also watch bonus coverage on TSN.ca Thursday at 9am et/6am pt and catch a recap of the days action at Midnight et/9pm pt. "I was never thinking because I won the amateur the year after Tiger that I was the next Tiger Woods," Kuchar said. "That was never something that I thought about or thought I was going to follow the same path as Tiger. I knew I had a different path that was for me." That path was rocky at times, but Kuchar never lost faith in his talent. He rebuilt his swing, found his way back on the PGA Tour after a brief hiccup, and started contending in tournaments. Now hes in another conversation this week at Merion Golf Club. Hes joined a select few as perhaps the best player who hasnt won a major championship. "I dont know that Im quite in that talk yet," Kuchar said Wednesday. "I know that a lot of people have been yelling out that they have got me in their pools and theyre picking me this week. But we hear a lot of that talk every week." Perhaps Kuchar should start listening more. Coming off a win two weeks ago at Memorial -- where his young son got a high five from host Jack Nicklaus when Kuchar won -- hes high on a lot of lists as a possible winner at this Open. That hes not shying away from the talk says something about how confident he is about his game. "I feel like Im playing some good golf," Kuchar said. "Im looking to continue to play good golf. Certainly a major championship, a U.S. Open, is one Im geared up for. Im looking forward to competing and trying to put my name on this trophy." Kuchar was still an amateur when he played his first U.S. Open at Olympic Club in San Francisco in 1998. His father -- who drew some criticism for his exuberance -- was carrying his bag and on Sunday it was both Fathers Day and the golfers 20th birthday Fans sang Happy Birthday to him and yelled "Happy Fathers Day" to his father as they walked to tees, but the real highlight was a 14th place finish. It paid no money but showed Kuchar that he could compete with players a level above him. Three years later he was a regular on the PGA Tour, making $500,000 in his rookie year. The next year he won the Honda Classic, giving him a two-year exemption on tour and marking him as one of the rising stars of the game. Then it all started to fall apart. Kuchar began missing cuts with regularity, finally ending up in golfs minor leagues -- what was then the Nationwide Tour -- while he retooled his game and tried to find a swing that worked as well as the swings of players who were on the big circuit. "I think that out here there was a definite learning curve on the PGA Tour of just being comfortable standing on the range, hitting balls next to Ernie Els or Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson and not just being in awe," Kuchar said. "And trying to say, Well, I cant hit it like that, what do I need to do to hit it like that? " He was a tennis player who took up golf when his mother upgraded their membership at a country club as a Christmas present. Playing better was never an issue since he quickly became one of the top -- and finally THE top -- amateur in the country. Coming back on tour in 2007 he played well enough to keep his card, though barely. The next year he won $1.5 million, and the next year cracked the top 25. Kuchar has already won twice this year, at the Match Play Championship and the Memorial, his sixth career win. Hes moved to No. 4 in the world golf rankings, and hasnt missed a cut all year while averaging 69.84 strokes a round. Hes a ball striker who rarely makes mistakes, and a putter who excels on fast greens, a combination that has oddsmakers and fans lining the fairways at Merion thinking he has a good shot to win his first major this week. "I think (the) great thing about the game of golf is theres no clear-cut favourites," Kuchar said. cheap jerseys wholesale . The 15th-ranked Canadian men lost the opening two games of their European tour: 19-15 to No. 17 Georgia and 21-20 to No. wholesale china nfl jerseys . The 19-year-old Olsen played 34 games with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL this season. In that time, hes recorded 17 goals and 17 assists with 36 penalty minutes. http://www.cheapchinanfljerseyswholesale.com/ .S. -- Nikolaj Ehlers registered a hat trick for the third straight game and Jonathan Drouin had a goal and five assists as the Halifax Mooseheads hammered the host Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 10-1 on Tuesday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. cheap nba jerseys china . Kozun faked to the forehand and beat Monsters starter, Calvin Pickard, pad side in the second round for the winner. Spencer Abbott also scored in the shootout for the Marlies (25-13-4). china nfl jerseys . The Barrie Colts defenceman, who impressed many with his play for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, is the top-ranked skater in the February rankings. He has 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points in 45 games with the Colts this season. CINCINNATI -- Tight end Tyler Eifert hasnt been cleared for practice heading into the Cincinnati Bengals opener on Sunday at the New York Jets, the first of several games hes expected to miss as he recovers from ankle surgery.Eifert and defensive tackle Brandon Thompson, who is still recovering from a knee injury last season, were the only players working out on a side field during practice on Monday. Eifert had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left ankle, an injury suffered at the Pro Bowl.Eifert set a club record for a tight end with 13 touchdown catches last season. The Bengals dont have another tight end that can catch the ball as dependably.The rest of the team suited up for practice on Monday. Coach Marvin Lewis said a couple of them might not be ready to play on Sunday. Cornerback Darqueze Dennard and tight end Tyler Kroft were among those who missed significant practice time during camp.Well push them through practice this week and see how they are, Lewis said. Maybe they wont quite be ready this week, but they should be ready for the (following) week.Right tackle Cedric Ogbuehi missed three preseason games with a toe injury. He said Monday that he could have played in more of the preseason, but the team held him out as a precaution. He expects to start against the Jets, replacing Andre Smith.Its real exciting, Ogbuehi said of his starting debut. Its New York, its a big deal, so Im ready for it.The Bengals are trying to get third-string quarterback Jeff Driskel up to speed as well.They waived Keith Wenning and claimed Driskel off waivers from San Francisco on Saturday. Driskel learned about the Bengals move from the internet, got a call from the team, and then headed to Cincinnati, arriving late Sunday night.There was no nameplate above his locker on Mondday.ddddddddddddIts crazy, Driskel said of the last 48 hours. Just in the past day, I was on the West Coast and now Im out here and getting ready to learn a playbook and see what the Jets are doing defensively. So theres definitely a lot on my plate this week.He had little contact with the Bengals during the scouting combine and didnt know that they had any interest in him.I think things have happened so fast and its a matter of worrying about the here and now and handling what I can do, which is get to work on that playbook and figuring out what Im doing, he said.Lewis said the team wont necessarily keep three quarterbacks on the roster for long. In the meantime, they get to see what Driskel can do.We thought he was a young, talented player who has a chance to continue to move upward, Lewis said. He can mature and grow and have an opportunity possibly to become an NFL quarterback. It gives us an opportunity to take a look at him.For now, hes the backup to Andy Dalton and AJ McCarron.Driskel played four seasons at Florida, starting 21 games, and spent last season at Louisiana Tech, where he threw for 4,033 yards with 27 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He went 15 for 31 for 132 yards with no touchdown and two interceptions for the 49ers during the preseason, including one especially bad throw in the final game.I was up and down, Driskel said. Obviously in my last game I didnt play so well. I made a bad throw -- tried to throw a ball out of bounds and didnt get it out of bounds, so I turned the ball over. Its tough to make a team turning the ball over.---Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '