investigator, Richard McLaren, dubbed Russias program the disappearing posit

CHASKA, Minn. -- There have been times when Phil Mickelson was accused of not caring about the Ryder Cup. Whether it was the changing of golf equipment on the eve of the 2004 matches, or a horrific singles loss to Wales Phillip Price in 2002 or simply his overall losing record, detractors had plenty of fodder.There is substantial evidence to the contrary, but if you are looking for one perfect example, it was that rather dubious celebratory leap Mickelson took Sunday on the 18th green at Hazeltine National, where he had just holed an 18-foot birdie putt.It was reminiscent of Mickelsons jump on the 18th green at Augusta National in 2004, when his birdie putt on the final green barely squeaked into the cup, assuring him his first major title at the Masters.The Ryder Cup is not a major championship, but it is nonetheless filled with the pressure-packed moments that mark the biggest individual tournaments in the game. Mickelson has seen it all, and he seemed to want that putt Sunday as much as he wanted anything in the game.Its a very emotional deal, and the putt on the last hole, I wasnt sure if it would hang in there, said Mickelson, who mocked his own celebration. I just kind of dropped down to my knees and when it went in, just that excitement propelled me up. Usually, I need a little assistance.It was his 10th birdie of the day, and not even Sergio Garcia matching him with a birdie of his own to assure a tie could take away from the moment. At 46, in what might very well have been Mickelsons last Ryder Cup as a player, he performed at an extraordinary level, delivering a half point at a time Sunday when it seemed it might very well be needed.In the end, the United States cruised to a 17-11 victory over Europe, putting an end to a run of defeats that caused such frustration that Mickelson lashed out at the system, and captain Tom Watson, two years ago in Scotland.All of this has been exhausting, Amy Mickelson, Phils wife, said on the course Sunday while following the match along with their two daughters and son. Im so closer to it and see what has been going on, and I know some tough things had to happen. But Ive seen such a difference for these guys, and all these young guys have been great, theyve been so invested.Mickelson would never say he has been vindicated, but it certainly would not have looked good had the U.S. lost and he played poorly. The U.S. won and Mickelson went 2-1-1, as his halved match against Garcia produced some of the best golf of the week.Four of Leftys 10 birdies came within the last five holes. Not to be outdone, Garcia birdied the last four. Between them they had 19 birdies and just a single bogey. Both players shot 63 on their own ball. It was fitting that their match ended in a tie.With all he had on him coming into the week ... yeah, it was incredible for him to perform like that, said Jim Bones Mackay, Mickelsons longtime caddie.There was Mickelsons takedown of Watson two years ago at Gleneagles, which led to a serious look at the way the Americans had been approaching the Ryder Cup.Mickelson long believed that continuity and putting the players in the best position to win, but eliminating some of the outside factors that go into the Ryder Cup, was the best way forward. A task force was formed, and although the concept has been ridiculed, it produced a new unity.The pressure started when some dumbass opened his mouth two years ago in the media center, said Mickelson, whose move at the time has since been deemed to be calculated as a way to force change.Gone are volunteer presidents of the PGA of America picking U.S. captains. Now, there is a succession plan in place, one that would be easy to predict. Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker, Mickelson and Tiger Woods can all be penciled in as future captains. All were here at Hazeltine this week.Mickelson was so involved that he was jokingly referred to as the teams de facto captain, even though the official role was held by Davis Love III, who received vindication after the crushing 14? to 13? defeat against Europe four years ago at Medinah, where the Americans blew a 4-point lead on the final day.[Mickelson] put himself out there, no doubt, said Rickie Fowler, one of Loves at-large selections and a player who Mickelson lobbied for extensively behind the scenes. He was under pressure just to make the team on points. And when we played that first match [on Friday], he knew how much pressure was on him, not just the pressure he put on himself but from people on the outside looking in.Mickelson and Fowler earned a victory over Rory McIlroy and Andy Sullivan in foursomes. They would lose on Saturday morning against McIlroy and Thomas Pieters, but when Mickelson went back out in the afternoon with Matt Kuchar, he helped deliver a four-ball victory over Garcia and Martin Kaymer.That set up the Sunday showdown against Garcia, who has been money in so many Ryder Cups. Garcia was just 1-2-2 this time, but he nonetheless left Minnesota with a 19-11-7 record in eight Ryder Cup appearances.Mickelson fell behind when Garcia birdied the first, but there was never more than a 1-hole difference the rest of the way. At both the 17th and 18th holes, with the match tied, Garcia hit his approach inside of Mickelson, who nonetheless made the putt -- only to see Garcia tie him. It was reminiscent of Mickelsons golf in July at Royal Troon, where he went shot for shot with Henrik Stenson, shooting a final-day 65 without a bogey but finishing runner-up.You kind of get in the moment and get dialed into that one shot and seem to get the best out of it, Mickelson said. It kind of happened for four days at the British [The Open] and it happened today. Itll be great to kind of build on it in the offseason.It is good to hear Mickelson talk that way, as if its no big deal to be thinking about a new year in golf. He has been a pro for more than 24 years, but had his coach, Andrew Getson, here this week to help him work on his game and build to the future.And really, thats what this entire Ryder Cup endeavor has been for Mickelson. Not about winning this year, although that was an added benefit, but building a foundation that will put the Americans in position to do this again.It took guts for Mickelson to say that the system was flawed. That led to change. But ultimately, playing good golf solves a lot of problems, and there was Mickelson on Sunday, playing as well as anyone in an effort to help the Americans win back the Ryder Cup.Discount Nike Shoes . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. 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To the surprise of many, it isnt the Wolverines but their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans.The Latest on the release of a report that confirmed widespread doping in Russian sports (all times local to Rio):2:31 p.m.Russian President Vladimir Putin says the officials named in a new report as directly responsible for widespread doping will be suspended pending a thorough investigation in Russia.Putin gave no names, but his statement appears to apply to Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko and his deputy, Yuri Nagornykh, who are both discussed in the report.The report by the World Anti-Doping Agency investigator says Nagornykh directed workers at Moscows anti-doping laboratory on which positive samples to send through and which to hold back. The report also says Mutko personally intervened to cover up a doping case.In the statement released by the Kremlin, Putin asks the WADA commission to provide more complete, objective, evidence-based information about its findings to Russian investigators.---1:42 p.m.Volleyball officials are among those who dont want to see all Russians kicked out of the Olympics.International Volleyball Federation president Ary Graca says there are no major issues with Russian national teams scheduled to compete in Rio de Janeiro next month. He noted that in volleyball, much of the testing is done outside of Russia, where labs have been implicated in the scandal.The comments highlight a growing divide in Olympic sports among those who say a ban is the right punishment to maintain integrity and those who claim it would hurt athletes who did not cheat.Brazilian beach volleyball star Emanuel Rego says there are too many innocent athletes who would be punished in a complete ban. Defending Olympic champion Julius Brink says he was shocked by the scope of the cheating, but he still doesnt think all Russian athletes should be punished by missing Rio.But the president of the FIVB Athletes Commission feels otherwise. Gilberto Amauri de Godoy Filho says it will take much of the brightness of the competition, but it is necessary to consider curbing doping.---1:29 p.m.How did the Russia state-sponsored doping program work? The report confirming widespread cheating offers some details.The report says Russias security service broke into supposedly tamper-proof urine sample bottles to help doping cheats win medals at the Sochi Olympics.This allowed agents at the Olympic testing laboratory to help swap in clean urine and replace samples from Russian athletes contaminated with steroids and other doping substances.Its unclear how many 2014 Winter Games medals are linked to the conspiracy, though the New York Times reported in May that four golds were involved.The exact method used by the FSB agency, the former KGB, to tamper with bottles was unknown.The World Anti-Doping Agency investigator, Richard McLaren, says scratches on the bottles were noted by a trained experts eye and using a microscope.---1:19 p.m.The World Anti-Doping Agencys executive board wants the IOC to ban all Russian teams from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.WADA issued a seven-point list of requests after it published a report which confirmed claims of state-backed Russian cheating at the Sochi Olympics and beyond.WADA also wants Russian government officials to be denied access to international competitions, including the upcoming Olympics.The anti-doping watchdog also calls on world governing bodies of sports implicated in the inquiry report to consider action against Russian national bodies.The WADA response is a further signal Russia could be facing Olympic expulsion when the 15-member IOC executive board discusses the crisis on Tuesday.WADAs president, Craig Reedie, is also an IOC vice president who will take part in the scheduled conference call requested by IOC President Thomas Bach.---12:33 p.m.The leader of the U.S. Olympic Committee says the McLaren Report confirms that the current anti-doping system is broken.The report confirmed that state-sponsored doping in Russian sports went far beyond the Sochi Olympics.Scott Blackmun said the USOC looks forward to working with the IOC, WADA and the rest of the Olympics family to address all the flaws.He said the USOC will rely on the IOC, WADA and international sports federations to apply appropriaate sanctions.dddddddddddd---11:52 a.m.The head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency says the investigative report into Russian doping confirms what he calls a mind-blowing level of corruption within Russian sports and government.Travis Tygart, the CEO of USADA, urged the international community to come together to ensure that what he called an unprecedented level of criminality never threatens sports again.Lacking from his statement was any call for a full ban of the Russian team from the Rio Games. Last week, he said if the report was as damning as expected, he would push for such a ban.---11:39 a.m.The report that confirms widespread doping in Russian sports ties the scandal to Russias sports ministry, headed by Vitaly Mutko.Mutko is also a member of world soccer body FIFAs ruling council and chairs the organizing committee of the 2018 World Cup being hosted by Russia.The World Anti-Doping Agency investigator says Mutko personally intervened to cover up a doping case of at least 1 foreign (soccer player) in the Russian League.The report says 11 positive tests by Russian soccer players were made to disappear in the state-sponsored doping program from late 2011 to 2015.It was inconceivable that Minister Mutko was not aware of the doping cover-up scheme, according to evidence from the former head of Moscows WADA-accredited testing laboratory.---11:27 a.m.IOC president Thomas Bach said the committee will not hesitate to take the toughest sanctions available against those implicated in the report confirming widespread doping in Russian sports.He called the McLaren report a shocking and unprecedented attack on the integrity of sports and on the Olympic Games.The IOC executive board will meet via conference call Tuesday to make initial decisions on possible sanctions for the Rio Games.---10:52 a.m.There are no forthcoming recommendations for punishment from the investigator whose report found widespread, state-sponsored doping in Russian sports.Richard McLaren, who was in charge of the investigation, says he considered making recommendations but decided against it, and urged the International Olympic Committee and others to absorb the information and act upon it as they wish.The Olympics are 18 days away, and the IOC and international sports federations will have to decide the fate of Russias Olympic team. Several organizations, including the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, have called for a complete ban of the Russian team.---10:45 a.m.The investigator behind a report that found widespread doping in Russian sports says hes confident the document was not leaked, and stands by its credibility.Several athlete and anti-doping groups were gearing up over the weekend to send letters to the International Olympic Committee urging that Russias entire delegation be banned from the Rio Games.Olympic leaders had said those moves undermined the report, and called it disappointing that the groups would try and have Russia banned in such an underhanded way.Investigator Richard McLaren says hes confident the report was not leaked, and the moves to send the letters were based on nothing more than speculation.---10:35 a.m.An investigator looking into Russian doping found the countrys state-directed cheating program resulted in at least 312 falsified results and lasted from 2011 through at least last years world swimming championships.The investigator, Richard McLaren, dubbed Russias program the disappearing positive methodology.McLaren said allegations made by Moscows former anti-doping lab director about sample switching at the Sochi Olympics went much as described in a New York Times story in May. That program involved dark-of-night switching of dirty samples with clean ones; it prevented Russian athletes from testing positive.But McLaren, whose report went public Monday, said Russias cheating also included the 2013 track world championships in Moscow and the 2015 swimming world championships in Kazan.Russias deputy minister of sports would direct lab workers which positive samples to send through and which to hold back. ' ' '