Worn down. Aching back. Sore hips. Mental fatigue. Sounds more like the final round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs than the FedEx Cup playoffs. But to hear the golfers talk, the ridiculous schedule that has been thrust upon those lucky enough to make it all the way to the last PGA Tour event of the year means this will be a hobble to the $8 million purse and the $10 million bonus. While there wont be much sympathy for guys in slacks vying for millions and millions of dollars, the game is clearly suffering at whats supposed to be its big finale. "I did take a month off before coming into the stretch," said Jim Furyk, who is among the remaining golfers in the field this week in Atlanta. "So Im now playing my eighth event in the last nine weeks. Im definitely a little tired. Im a little worn down." Phil Mickelson pulled out of the BMW Championship because hed had enough and was hoping to send a message to the calendar planners. And the No. 1 player in the world made a detour on the way home from the BMW in Denver to enjoy the simple things. "Its amazing what a night in your own bed can do," admitted Rory McIlroy. "I mean, just one night. Its funny, I was standing in the shower on Monday morning in Denver and I was thinking to myself: Why am I going to Atlanta today? So I didnt. I changed and Im going to go to Florida. Im going to go home for a day and a half." The driving range and putting green last week were ghost towns as golfers preserved their energy. Thats not much fun for spectators. How beat up are some of these guys? Consider that Dr. Craig Davies, Canadian chiropractor and trainer to many of the top players on tour has been travelling with a portable hyperbaric chamber, a device that can speed up healing through pressurized oxygen. This years schedule compacted the FedEx Cup playoffs into a four-week squeeze, something no one seems to want and is unlikely to happen again. Certainly that was the word from on high from the commissioner. "Four in a row doesnt really work," Tim Finchem said last week. "So we understand that. We didnt like it this year. Were not going to do it going forward." But the problem is deeper than just the final four weeks. There is a stretch from the Open Championship through this week where there are two majors, a World Golf Championship event and then four playoff stops. Somewhere in there are also the RBC Canadian Open and the Wyndham Championship. Those tournaments have found it necessary to sponsor golfers, including Furyk, to get them to tee it up on the field. Pity poor Brandt Snedeker who has sponsorships with both companies meaning a nine-week stretch was possible, although he only made if as far as the second week of the playoffs. Not only does this schedule hurt the quality of play in these events, but it means that golfers dont play as much before it, saving up their energy for the big run. Theres no easy solution other than cutting back on the total events, which isnt going to happen. Perhaps the playoffs could be three events instead of four, but thats unlikely, especially with millions on the table. You could create an off-season, longer that is, than the three weeks between the Tour Championship and the Frys.Com Open, the first stop on the 2014-15 calendar. For now, its going to be the last man standing come Sunday afternoon. After that, dont expect to see too many of these guys for a while. Oh wait. . . 12 of them are playing in the Ryder Cup. At least theyll get one week off. Wholesale Patriots Jerseys Authentic . The Brazilian international goalkeeper was beaten twice in the first 12 minutes of his Reds debut in a 3-1 preseason loss to Columbus Crew in Florida earlier this week. Authentic Adam Butler Jersey . But when it was all over they had wasted another lead, seen another pitcher flame out on the mound and lost their fourth straight at home. http://www.cheappatriotsjerseysauthentic...ck-chung-jersey. The 21-year-old Wickham headed Sunderland into a 26th-minute lead --to add to the double he scored at Manchester City and his strike in last weekends win at Chelsea -- and then sealed the win with a late header. Authentic Shaq Mason Jersey . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Authentic Donta Hightower Jersey .Brady threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Julian Edelman midway through the fourth quarter, and New England beat the San Diego Chargers 23-14 for its eighth win in nine games.NEW YORK -- Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points and the New York Knicks opened the Phil Jackson era by beating the Indiana Pacers 92-86 Wednesday night for their season-high seventh straight victory. With their new team president watching from a midcourt seat, the Knicks dominated the first half, then pulled away after the Eastern Conference leaders finally got untracked in the second half. Fans stood to cheer Jackson in the first quarter and were on their feet again in the final minute to watch the Knicks beat the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year. Lance Stephenson had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Pacers, who had their four-game winning streak snapped and failed to extend their three-game lead over the Miami Heat, who lost to Boston earlier Wednesday. Roy Hibbert scored 20 on 8-of-10 shooting, but All-Star Paul George missed all six first-quarter shots and finished 4 for 17 for his 17 points. New Yorks previous six wins had all come against non-playoff teams, but this was against a team that seemingly had returned to form after dropping a season-worst four in a row. Amare Stoudemire added 21 points and Tyson Chandler grabbed 14 rebounds for the Knicks, who are four games behind Atlanta for the final East playoff spot. Jackson met with coaches and players earlier Wednesday, then watched the game from a seat above centre court, receiving a loud standing ovation when shown on the overhead screen during a first-quarter timeout. The 11-time champion as a coach also was on the Knicks only two title-winning teams as a player, and there was a different energy in the building during whats been a hugely disappointing season before recent days. Mike Woodson said before the game he wasnt angry that Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan had orriginally talked to Jackson in December about the coaching job, adding that "the city should be buzzing" over his return.dddddddddddd (Not all of it is; a group of fans frustrated with Dolans mismanagement of the franchise went through with a previously planned protest outside the arena before the game). Anthony said he was excited about the hire, but that it was difficult to think about that with the players trying to focus on the game as they try to make a late run for a playoff spot. Hibbert scored 14 points in the third quarter to help Indiana wipe out nearly all of a 16-point deficit, and it was just a one-point game early in the fourth when George made just his second field goal. But the Knicks answered with eight in a row, going ahead 75-66 on Stoudemires basket with 7:57 remaining, and Anthony spun for a dunk and knocked down a jumper for consecutive scores after Indiana trimmed it to five with under 4 minutes to go. Woodson improved to 45-16 in March and April as Knicks coach, but New York faces an uphill climb to dig out of the hole a 2-11 February created. The Knicks shot 24 per cent in the first quarter, missing all five 3-point attempts, but had a 21-14 lead after going 9 of 10 from the free throw line. New York ran off 12 in a row to open its biggest lead at 39-23 on Stoudemires basket midway through the second, and the Pacers could only trim that to 47-35 at halftime NOTES: Andrew Bynum will be out the rest of the week resting his sore right knee. The centre aggravated his troublesome knee after playing Saturday against Detroit, his second appearance since signing with the Pacers. He has averaged 11.5 points and 9.5 rebounds thus far. ... Indiana won both earlier meetings and was trying to sweep the series for the first time since 2007-08. ' ' '