n aging squad that has won everything in

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MARANA, Ariz. -- One shot came out of bottom of a cactus, the other from the base of a desert bush with rocks scattered around it. Both times, Jason Day felt the Match Play Championship was his to win Sunday. And both times, he watched Victor Dubuisson turn the impossible into pars in the wildest conclusion ever to a tournament that is unpredictable even in normal circumstances. "At that time, youre just thinking, Do I need to just hand him the trophy now after those two shots?" Day said. Dubuisson finally ran out of magic. Day ended the madness at Dove Mountain on the fifth extra ..................... when he pitched over a mound to 4 feet and made birdie, a sigh of relief as much as it was cause for celebration at capturing his first World Golf Championship. "I kept shaking my head because there was a couple of time there where I thought he was absolutely dead -- the tournament was mine," Day said. It was remarkable enough when the 23-year-old Frenchman stood in a fairway bunker on the 17th ....................., 174 yards away and needing to win the last two ........... to force overtime. He did just that with a 15-foot birdie and a par save from the bunker. And then came back-to-back pars that defied belief. Dubuisson sailed over the green on No. 1 and into the desert, the ball lodged at the base of a cholla. Day was in the bunker, a fairly simple shot, especially when CBS announcer David Feherty walked over and said the Frenchman would have to take a penalty drop. With an all-or-nothing swing, Dubuisson whacked his 9-iron through the sharp needs and into a TV cable. The ball scooted up a hill covered by 3-inch rough and onto the green to 4 feet below the ...................... He made par to keep going. It was reminiscent of the shot Bill Haas pulled off at East Lake from shallow water on the 17th ..................... in a playoff. Only this was even more improbable -- and it came with an encore. From the ninth fairway, Dubuisson pulled his approach left of the green, left of the bleacher and into the desert at the bottom of a bush. "I walked over there and it was in a tree, a flower tree of some sort, in this little crevice. I mean, it looked absolutely dead," Day said. "Im like, Yes. I hit 8-iron into 20 feet. There was so much pressure on him. And he does it again." After halving the next two ........... with bogeys and pars, Day watched his opponent hit driver on the 333-yard 15th ..................... too far too the right. And he heard the Frenchman say under his breath, "Dead." He was only in the grass, but Day knew better. The chip was nearly impossible to get close. Day was 20 feet closer, in shorter grass, and pitched to 4 feet. Dubuisson hit his flop shot 30 feet past the ..................... and missed the birdie putt. "Im disappointed because I made some terrible shots," Dubuisson said on the 15th green when it was over, ignoring the two that were as close to a miracle as golf allows. But they were incredible. Even the great Seve Ballesteros would have saluted this performance. "Those two shots were .....," Dubuisson said. "I just played it like I had nothing to lose." He gained plenty in defeat. This tournament will be remembered as much for two improbable shots out of the desert as Day winning a trophy he always believed would belong to him -- even in the midst of shots that defied belief. Day won for the second time on the PGA Tour and rose to a career-best No. 4 in the world. It was the first time the championship match went overtime since the inaugural year in 1999 at La Costa, when Jeff Maggert chipped on the second extra ..................... of a 36-hole final. That was like watching paint dry compared with the show Dubuisson put on. "Vic, man, he has a lot of guts," Day said. "He has a great short game -- straight out of the cactus twice. For a 23-year-old kid, hes got a lot of game. Were going to see a lot of him for years to come." Day won $1.53 million. Lost in all the theatre was that he never trailed over the final 53 ........... of this fickle tournament. Dubuisson earned $906,000, all but assuring a PGA Tour card for next year. And he all but clinched a spot on the Ryder Cup team in September, moving to the top of the points table by the equivalent of about $1.5 million. Dubuisson only reached the championship match by rallying from 3-down after six ........... against Ernie Els in the morning semifinals. The Frenchman said he couldnt sleep Saturday night, perhaps because he realized he was playing a four-time major champion. He wound up beating Els with a par on the 18th ..................... to meet Day, who beat Rickie Fowler 3 and 2. Fowler beat Els in 19 ........... in the third-place match. For all the heroics by Dubuisson over the final hour of this ..... show, Day certainly had his moments. Perhaps his greatest feat was never losing faith he would win, even as it appeared the golfing gods were in Dubuissons corner. "The biggest thing was, How much do I want to win?" I kept saying that to myself. Last night, I kept visualizing myself with the trophy," Day said. "Im glad I could finish it off. But it was a close one." Steve Francis Jersey . Coming off a 6-0 drubbing at Chelsea on Saturday, Arsenal endured another demoralizing result after rallying for a 2-1 lead -- only to concede a fluke equalizer. James Harden Jersey .com) - James Harden put the Houston Rockets on his back and willed them to an overtime victory on Thursday. http://www.therocketsofficial.com/Authe ... ts-Jersey/. -- During a players meeting following the All-Star break, Jermaine ONeal promised his teammates to play the rest of the regular season like he would never play again -- because he very well might not. Tracy McGrady Rockets Jersey . Wall made the comment in a speech to a Regina business crowd that included Lesnar. The U.S. wrestler and retired mixed martial artist says he was visiting his brothers farm in Saskatchewan and decided he wanted to hear what the premier had to say. James Harden Rockets Jersey .com) - The disappointing Ottawa Senators hope to record consecutive wins for the first time since early November, as they visit the Boston Bruins on Friday for the opener of a home-and-home series. CURITIBA, Brazil -- Defending champion Spain salvaged some World Cup pride on Monday with a convincing 3-0 victory over Australia in their last match at the tournament. After losing their previous matches in Group B to the Netherlands and Chile, both teams took to Arena da Baixada in the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba knowing they could not advance to the second round. David Villa, on his 97th and final appearance put Spain ahead in the 36th minute with his record 59th goal, guiding Juanfran Torres pass into the net with the inside of his right foot. Juanfran had been found by a typically incisive pass by Andres Iniesta. "We stepped up against Australia and won this match, and Im happy to have participated in the first goal," said the 32-year-old Villa, who has called time on his international career. "Its sad because we would have liked to have spent more time here, but thats how it is." Iniesta was at the heart of the second goal too, providing the pass for Fernando Torres to steer the ball past Australia goalkeeper Mat Ryan in the 69th minute. Juan Mata, who replaced an emotional Villa early in the second half, added the third in the 82nd from close range, stroking the ball under Ryan after he was found in space by fellow substitute Cesc Fabregas. David Silva, who also came on late, went close in the 89th but his shot from outside the area went just wide. Though nothing, in terms of World Cup progress, rested on the game, Spain showed some of the clever passing football that has seen it dominate the game over the past six years -- winning Euro 2008, its first World Cup in South Africa in 2010 and then Euro 2012. With that domination now at an end, the task facing Spain is to manage the transition from an aging squad that has won everything in the game to a new generation of players waiting to take centre stage. "We went out with dignity," Del Bosque said. &qquot;These have been six years of which we have been first in the FIFA ranking, a generation of players that have taught others, and have shown themselves," he added.dddddddddddd "We bow out with our head high knowing the future of the Spanish team has a good base regardless of who coaches it, with good veterans." In the early minutes of the match, Australia took the game to the champions, but it wasnt long before Spain asserted control and started dominating possession. "We started bright enough but you have to give credit to them, they are a quality team," Australia coach Ange Postecoglou said. "We looked jaded, tired, and gave away the ball too easily, so its disappointing." Australia, which lacked bite up front through the suspension of Tim Cahill, finished with zero points, its worst ever performance in a World Cup. On its 1974 debut, Australia garnered a point. However, the Socceroos were in an extremely tough group and pushed the Netherlands hard during its 3-2 defeat. For its part, Spain avoided the worst World Cup title defence in history. That label remains with the France team of 2002, which only secured one point in its goal-less campaign in the tournament co-hosted by South Korea and Japan. "What happened is in the past now," Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso said. "We tried to face our situation in the best manner possible. This is football, though, and we go home sad." ------ Lineups: Australia: Mat Ryan, Ryan McGowan, Jason Davidson, Matthew Spiranovic, Alex Wilkinson, Matt McKay, Mile Jedinak, Oliver Bozanic (Mark Bresciano, 72), Tommy Oar (James Troisi, 61), Matthew Leckie, Adam Taggart (Ben Halloran, 46). Spain: Pepe Reina, Sergio Ramos, Raul Albiol, Jordi Alba, Juanfran Torres, Koke, Xabi Alonso (David Silva, 83), Santi Cazorla (Cesc Fabregas, 68), Andres Iniesta, Fernando Torres, David Villa (Juan Mata, 56). 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