sin. This is the 20-year anniversary of the first time Stricker

DORAL, Fla. Chris Williams Bills Jersey . - Steve Stricker usually doesnt show up at a tournament on Sunday. He made an exception for the Cadillac Championship, and it made perfect sense. And not just because snow is in the forecast at home in Wisconsin. This is the 20-year anniversary of the first time Stricker played the Blue Monster at Doral. Now it seems as if hes on a blind date. "You know youre at Doral, but it doesnt feel anything like it," Stricker said Tuesday. "A few holes, they havent changed. But then you step up there, and 80 per cent of them look different from the tee." And that was before he saw the Trump helicopter in all its glory to the left of the 10th tee. "Isnt that something?" Stricker said. "That was probably the first thing they built, that helipad." Donald Trump bought Doral and is putting a golden touch on the resort, which includes the Blue Monster (now officially known as Trump National Doral). He brought in Gil Hanse, the architect who is designing the Olympic golf course in Rio, for a makeover the likes of which the PGA Tour has never seen. Some things havent changed — the tropical warmth, and jetliners soaring over the golf course every minute as they descend on Miami International Airport. Trump didnt get the flight patterns changed. Not yet, anyway. But with few exceptions, its a brand new course. Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano of Spain is in his first year on the PGA Tour. He only moved to Miami in December. He has played Doral four times, making this the one course he knows better than the other 68 players in the field, who are getting to know it for the first time. "Thats the feeling I have everywhere I go," he said. "Now they know how I feel." The opening hole used to be one of the easiest par 5s on tour. A big tee shot in the fairway would leave a short iron into the green for the second shot. Making par felt like losing a shot to the field. Stricker played a practice round with Jim Furyk, a past champion at Doral. Furyk hit a tee shot down the middle and had his head down as he walked toward the ball. Finally, he looked at his next shot — just under 260 yards to go, down and to the right with water wrapping around the right side of the green and bunkers dotting the landscape. "Wow," Furyk said. "Youre going to be saying that a lot today," Stricker told him. Whether the changes are for the better wont be known until Thursday when the scores count, and even then the opinions will vary. Odds are the player with a 68 might have a different answer from the guy who shot 75. Its longer and stronger. Perhaps the biggest change on any section of the golf course is the 15th and 16th holes. The par-3 15th is only about 150 yards, but water wraps around all but the far right side of the green. Jordan Spieth hit an 8-iron to the far back of the green. It landed about six paces from the back and wound up down the bank and into the water. The short par-4 16th is a driver over the water, unless a player chooses to lay up with an iron to the right. Spieth was stunned to learn the lake wasnt there before. This is one time the 20-year-old Texan has an advantage. He knows the course about as well as anyone, which is not very well at all. "Everyones experience is gone," Stricker said. As for Tiger Woods? He is a four-time champion at Doral. He often talks about putting from memory, which will do him little good on a course where the greens have been redone. The shape of some holes is entirely different. There are slopes on the greens that werent there before. Woods was not at Doral on Tuesday, and the tournament was still awaiting word on whether the lower back injury that led him to withdraw from the Honda Classic on Sunday will be healed enough to play. If he does, hell get one practice round on the Blue Monster before he defends his title. "Its going to be a bit of a shock to him, I think because its just such a different look," Jason Day said. Justin Rose, who won at Doral two years ago, would rather a course go through a massive overhaul than just a few tweaks. This was an overhaul. Trees are gone. Others have been planted. There are bunkers where there had been grass (left of No. 3). There is water where there wasnt water. "So you dont get the sense of being on the same golf course," Rose said. "I think if they had just reworked the greens and everything else looked identical, that might mess with your instincts more. But I think you really just view this as a new golf course. I didnt bring my yardage book from the past number of years. So its a clean sheet." The busiest guys all week have been the caddies. Jimmy Johnson, who works for Stricker, went back to the course Monday evening after a practice round to study. He normally would have been out there by himself. But when he arrived at the par-5 eighth hole — a completely different look with carry-over water for the second shot — he found three other caddies and joined them in stepping off the yardage for the best place to lay up. "It took us 40 minutes," he said. C.J. Spiller Jersey . That obstacle in the divisional round of the postseason was of course, eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay. The field-stretching Packers had the opposite game plan than Atlanta, which primarily opted to run first before letting quarterback Matt Ryan do his thing in the pocket last season. E. J. Manuel Womens Jersey .C. -- Hudson Swafford, Nick OHern, Edward Loar and Ben Kohles shared the lead in the Chiquita Classic, shooting 5-under 67 on Thursday in the first round of the Web.TORONTO -- They called it a serious mistake that Jonas Valanciunas must learn from. But otherwise the Toronto Raptors players and staff are standing behind their starting centre after he was charged with drunk driving. The 21-year-old apologized to his teammates, and will play in Wednesdays game against the visiting Philadelphia 76ers, but news of his arrest drew a large contingent of media to practice on Tuesday and negative attention to a team bound for the playoffs for the first time in six seasons. "(I was) disappointed a little bit," Raptors GM Masai Ujiri said of his reaction to the arrest. "As an organization, its not something we take lightly, its not something I feel we are just going to brush aside. (But) hes a young kid ... I look at all of you here and I wonder what we were all doing when we were 21, so there are mistakes that are made." Valanciunas was arrested early Monday morning in Wasaga Beach, Ont., a popular vacation destination for college students about 100 kilometres north of downtown Toronto, and charged with having more than 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. Police say they began investigating after a report that a vehicle went through a drive-thru with open beer bottles visible. The Lithuanian met with Ujiri for an hour on Monday, and had his "face in his hands," the GM said. He also met with Tim Leiweke, the president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. "I think he feels he let his teammates down, he let his fans down, the organization," Ujiri said. "Thats Jonas, hes a great kid. And I think he made some kind of a mistake, but I think the most important thing is its not going to happen again, and he understands that." Ujiri spoke to a media horde of more than 40-strong. There were nine television cameras. Valanciunas was not made available to reporters after what coach Dwane Casey said was a great practice by the sophomore centre, but issued a statement with an apology on Monday. "I hold myself to a high standard and take my role as a member of the Toronto Raptors very seriously," Valanciunas said. "I apologize to the organization, my teammates, my family and my fans, and regret any negativity this incident has brought upon them." Valanciunass first court appearance is scheduled for Collingwood, Ont., on April 22, which is a couple of days after the start of the playoffs. Valanciunas does not have to attend and so a lawyer will stand in for him. He still may face a suspension of a couple of games by the NBA, but that wouldnt come until the results of his trial which would likely be during the summer. The Raptors will decide on any further punishment such as a fine or suspension following the leagues ruling. Most of the Raptors and their families attended the Toronto Blue Jays game on a day off from practice Sunday. Ujiri said Valanciunas instead went to Wasaga Beach with his wife and some friends. Thhe seven-footer is averaging 11 points and 8. DaNorris Searcy Bills Jersey. rebounds a game, and his growth this season is a big part of why the Raptors are in third in the Eastern Conference and poised to win the Atlantic Division title. Casey spoke of Valanciunas much like he would a son. "Like I told him, Im upset with him and disappointed, but hes mine so we love him," Casey said. "He made a mistake, but like any other young man has probably done before, or had the opportunity before. We dont condone it, the organization doesnt condone it, and its a tough time of year to do it. But its happened. ... "We all make mistakes, its what we do after it that is how were going to be judged." Kyle Lowry said the young teammate that he views as a little brother was "sick right now" over the mistake. "Hes really hurt by it, hes really embarrassed by it, very disappointed in himself. I can tell you that for sure," the veteran point guard said. "Its just a mistake that he made, its unfortunate that it happened to such a good kid in JV, but it happened, hes 21, hes going to learn from it. Im sure hell never make that mistake again," he added. Lowry said his advice was: "Just be more responsible. We have all the benefits of having drivers and taxis. Thats it, be more responsible." Raptors all-star DeMar DeRozan said the incident was a regrettable mistake, but added the players support for each other in any situation is part of what has made Toronto one of the best teams in the East this season. "At the end of the day, were all human. We can look at everybody in here and ask them: have they done something wrong, or made a mistake in life. Its part of life. Its something you learn from and grow from." "No matter what guys go through, were always there for them, family, whatever it may be, somebodys kid is sick ... its always something, and were always there for one another. Thats big because you dont get that with every team that you play for." The Raptors said the negative news wont be a distraction to the team that has won six of its last seven games. "Not at all," Lowry said. "We had a great practice today, really spirited, really competitive, really positive vibe in there." "Ive been coaching since 79 and Ive seen a little bit of everything," Casey added. "This is very serious, a very serious matter, but its not enough to distract the team and that type of thing. "His teammates were very supportive of him, and to them its a great lesson also, the focus and the discipline you have to have in your own life to go forward." The last Raptor to be charged with drunk driving while still a member of the team was Dee Brown, who was stopped by police in 1999 in Toronto and charged with impaired driving and later convicted. But a judge found he was a victim of racial profiling and overturned the conviction. ' ' '