Dein erstes Forum » taking on Homan later that night. Homan, 24

PINEHURST, N.C. -- Rickie Fowler turned in another strong finish in one of golfs biggest events and gained the experience of playing in the final group of a major. He will have to wait a little longer for his first major title or his second PGA Tour victory. The 25-year-old Fowler tied for second Sunday in the U.S. Open, finishing with a 2-over 72 for a 1-under 279 total at Pinehurst No. 2. Fowler and Erik Compton ended up eight strokes behind runaway winner Martin Kaymer, who dominated the tournament so completely the first two days that everyone else was playing for second. Ultimately, Fowler said, his second top-five major finish of the year is proof hes inching closer to some breakthrough moments -- the kind that could eliminate the questions about whether he is more hype than substance. "It doesnt matter what I do. Im always going to have critics," Fowler said. "... Obviously, theres been some great finishes, but I want to win and I want to win more." Fowlers only tour win came two years ago in the Wells Fargo Championship. He was two shots back at the Masters going into the final day before shooting 73 to tie for fifth. He has always attracted plenty of attention with his flamboyant style, from the knickers he wore Thursday in opening round in tribute to late U.S. Open champion Payne Stewart to the nearly head-to-toe orange of alma mater Oklahoma State he wore Sunday. His game has been a work in progress with swing coach Butch Harmon since the end of last year following the death of former coach Barry McDonnell in 2011. While Fowler has shown improvement, he has also missed the cut in three of six events since the Masters. At Pinehurst No. 2, he shot even-par 70 on Thursday and Friday then followed with a 67 to put himself in the final group. But he never got much momentum Sunday, with his double bogey on the fourth hole -- he sank a long putt to avoid a triple -- stalling him early. He also hooked a tee shot on the 16th so badly that a man had to snatch up his child to avoid the ball skirting along the pine needles, though Fowler managed to save par on that hole before a bogey on 17 helped drop him into a tie for second. "He hit a couple of bad shots and that put him into some bad positions, but he saved it very well," Kaymer said. "... I was just hoping for him that he makes birdie on 18, because I think he really deserved to finish second here." Still, if Fowler felt disappointed with tying for second, he did not show it Sunday evening. As Compton talked with reporters, Fowler pulled out his cellphone and snapped a selfie with Compton in the background as he stood to the side waiting his turn. "Its kind of the same way handling rounds at the U.S. Open here," Fowler said about winning a major. "You cant get ahead of yourself, you have to stay patient, have to stay in the moment and keep going through the process. ... Were going to continue to do this and keep my game progressing the right way, and its just a matter of time." Cheap Air Max 90 Free Shipping . The Rainbow FlickNext up is the Rainbow Flick, or as you probably know it, the trick that everybody at soccer camp thought they knew how to do. Wholesale Air Max 1 . Mike Vecchione tied it at 2 with 4:01 left in the first, Saskatoon native Eli Lichtenwald gave the Dutchman the lead 57 seconds later, and Daniel Ciampini capped the spree with 2:57 to go. http://www.airmaxsneakersonsale.com/ . -- Jose Bautista never worries about hitting homers during the regular season. Cheap Air Max Tn Plus . Thaddeus Young scored seven of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, Evan Turner added 22 points, and the 76ers hung on for their first road win since Nov. 1, beating the depleted Los Angeles Lakers 111-104 on Sunday night. Wholesale Air Max China . You can watch the game live on TSN2 and TSN Mobile TV at 9pm et/6pm pt. Jonathan Huberdeau and Quinton Howden are expected to make their debuts for Team Canada.WINNIPEG -- Brad Jacobs was the first to admit how poorly his team played. Hes also one win away from a trip to the Winter Games. The reigning Canadian champion remained undefeated at 6-0 with a 5-4 victory Thursday night over veteran Kevin Martin, clinching a spot in Sundays final of the Canadian Olympic curling trials. "Even though we were, in all honesty, pretty bad that game, we were able to pull it out and I think thats huge," Jacobs said. "And I think even though we were sloppy, we were still confident. But it was really nice to be in a game like that where we had to grind and score two to win." Martin came out of the battle of the best with a 5-1 record that earned the veteran from Edmonton a berth into Saturday afternoons semifinal. The other semifinalist wont be determined until the men finish their seven-game Roar of the Rings round robin with a morning draw Friday at the MTS Centre. With Martin leading 4-3, Jacobs blanked the eighth and ninth ends to keep the hammer in the 10th. Both rinks had a pair of rocks inside the four-foot, with a Jacobs stone almost dead centre in the button. Martin then put up a guard, forcing the 28-year-old from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., to do a run-back takeout and score two points. Martin, who won gold at the 2010 Olympics and silver in 2002, is looking for a fourth trip to the Games. The 47-year-old was leading Jacobs 3-1 after four ends, but Jacobs scored two in the sixth to tie it up. Martin looked like he was going to taken advantage of Jacobs misses in the seventh end and score two, but after he took out a Jacobs stone his own rock was just barely swept out of the rings for the 4-3 lead. Martin agreed it was a sloppy game by both sides. "But Brad made a good one in his last one," he said. A duel between the Winnipeg rinks skipped by Jeff Stoughton and Mike McEwen ended with McEwen defeating the veteran 9-6. Stoughton, who dropped to 2-4, was given a standing ovation. McEwen sits at 3-3. Before competing in his fifth trials, Stoughton said itll be his last attempt to go to the Olympics. McEwen jumped to a 5-1 lead after the third end when he scored four against the two-time world champion, but Stoughton stole two in the fifth to close the gap 5-4. McEwen stretched the lead to 9-5 after a draw for three in the eighth end. "Its whoever played their best this week," Stoughton said. "We didnt play our best and we got what we got, which is not enough wins to get in the playoffs." Winless Kevin Koe of Calgary drew to the button to claim his firstt victory of the competition with a 7-6 decision over veteran Glenn Howard of Coldwater, Ont.dddddddddddd(2-4). John Morris, who curls out of Kelowna, B.C., improved to 4-2 with a 7-6 win over John Epping of Toronto (1-5). "Not the textbook when youre up 5-2 that youd want to play it, but thats how we roll," Morris said. "Sometimes its not pretty, but we get the job done and were excited to live on till tomorrow." Morris plays Martin on Friday, with the other matchups between Stoughton and Howard, McEwen and Koe and Epping against Jacobs. On the womens side, Rachel Homan avoided playing a tiebreaker and grabbed a spot in the semifinals. The reigning Canadian champion defeated Stefanie Lawton of Saskatoon 6-5 in the final game of their seven-game round robin to finish 4-3, but Winnipegs Chelsea Carey and Ontarios Sherry Middaugh also sported the same mark. Homan got bumped to the semi, though, because her Ottawa rink fared better than Carey and Middaughs teams on rankings based on draws to the button before games throughout the week. "It wasnt important," Homan said of avoiding a tiebreaker. "Its nice to be able to get second place and go into the semi. Either way we had a chance and thats all we needed." Carey and Middaugh will play their tiebreaker Friday afternoon, with the winner taking on Homan later that night. Homan, 24, had no preference on which team theyd prefer taking on. "Weve played them both a million times and its going to be a good game either way and hopefully we can win it in 10 (ends)," Homan said. Winnipeg veteran skip Jennifer Jones already earned a bye into Saturday nights final and will watch her competitors battle it out. Jones, 39, defeated Edmontons Heather Nedohin 6-5 to finish her round robin at 6-1, while Nedohin ended with a 3-4 mark. Homan almost had to play in a tiebreaker, but Edmontons Val Sweeting lost 9-8 in an extra end to Renee Sonnenberg of Grande Prairie, Alta., and fell to 3-4. Sonnenberg finished 1-6. Carey had a chance to grab second place outright, but she lost 7-6 to Middaugh. "If theyd told us at the start of the week wed have a tiebreaker, wed take it," Carey, 29, said. Middaugh, 47, whos competing in her fourth trials, was leading 5-3 after six ends and stole another point in the seventh. She also saw room for improvement after the win. "The first seven ends were fun and then I turned off my brain in my last shot in eight and then the collar got a little tight after that so I cant lie," Middaugh said. ' ' '