shot rarely seen in links golf -- instead of running it up along

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Football reigns in Texas, where communities build $60 million high school stadiums and worship 16-year-old quarterbacks.In Texas, its about Friday nights in places such as Stephenville and La Grange. Its about Saturdays in Austin and College Station, and its about Sunday afternoons in Dallas and Houston.But the start of NFL training camps no longer coincides with the unofficial end of baseball interest in Dallas and Houston. These days, baseball matters in September and October.The Texas Rangers have the American Leagues best record and the second-best record in baseball. The Houston Astros have a roster filled with young players such as Carlos Correa, George Springer and Jose Altuve, who each figure to play in numerous All-Star games.I dont know that both clubs have been at this level ever before at the same time, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said. When it matters to both teams, thats when its really fun.The Rangers and Astros have shared the AL West the past four seasons, but last year marked the first time both clubs could be considered contenders. The Rangers rallied from an eight-game deficit in August to win the division.On Sunday, the teams will conclude a three-game series in Arlington. The Rangers have won the series first two games, increasing their division lead over the Astros to 10? games. The Astros are four games behind in the AL wild-card race.The heightened awareness that comes around September, the excitement that comes with it, the stress ... its why we play, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said.Texas has beaten Houston in 13 of 15 games this season and 21 of 25 dating back to last season, when the Rangers won the division. The Rangers have won six one-run games against the Astros and three others by two runs. The Astros entered this series with 10 wins in their past 12 games to pull within 8? games. The Rangers bullied Houston in the series first two games, scoring 22 runs and leading each game by at least eight runs.In these learning lessons that are going on now, in the heat of a pennant race in September when a lot of these guys are at the end of their gas tank, its a growth opportunity for them, Hinch said. But its also important that we find a way to navigate through some of these troubles because were going to need the younger guys to adapt.This rivalry is still in its infancy -- even though the teams have played a number of interleague games over the years -- because the Astros played in the National League from 1962 to 2012.For now, fans give the rivalry life because the cities have a natural rivalry. Dallas brags about the Cowboys Super Bowl trophies, while Houston gloats about the Rockets basketball titles.A four-hour drive up or down I-45 or a one-hour flight is all that separates the cities, and visiting fans tend to regularly invade the home teams ballpark.The rivalrys intensity should continue to increase because each franchise should be good for years. Texas has won at least 87 games six of the past seven years, and it has been to the playoffs four of the past six seasons, making consecutive World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011.Houston, which made the playoffs in 2015, doesnt have that type of pedigree. Last season was the first time the Astros finished above .500 since 2008, but all those poor seasons positioned the Astros to draft a wave of stars. Those players are finally getting to the big leagues, and it has put the Astros in a position to be among the best teams in the AL for the next several years.Its alive, Texas manager Jeff Banister said of the rivalry. It may mean a little more to me than some: Im a Texas kid. Growing up in Houston and getting to manage the Texas Rangers, for me, youre asking a guy who probably has a little more invested in this than some.The players they have are young; its an energetic, very talented group that loves to play the game. You see the similarities in their players and our players in ability and how much they love to play the game and the excitement they play with.In 2015, both teams finished above .500 for the first time as members of the American League. That July, Texas Rougned Odor and Houstons Hank Conger had a heated argument at the plate that resulted in both dugouts emptying and the managers screaming at each other.Two months ago, the Double-A affiliates for each club were involved in a bench-clearing brawl that lasted 11 minutes and resulted in three ejections.Were still developing our rivalry, said Astros third base coach Gary Pettis, a coach with the Rangers for several seasons before joining the Astros last year.Right now, its probably more about the cities than the teams, but as we continue to improve, itll get more intense. Its a great opportunity for our players. You want to play games in September that mean something. Fake China Jerseys . From filmmaker Nanette Burstein (On the Ropes), The Price of Gold revisits the saga that rocked the figure skating world ahead of the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games: the assault on Nancy Kerrigan, and the plot that led its way back to her rival Tonya Harding. 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TROON, Scotland -- Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson went toe-to-toe for four hours Saturday at The Open, trading pivotal par saves and four lead changes in the cold wind and occasional rain at Royal Troon.And now they get to do it again, this time with the Claret Jug at stake.Stenson had a pair of two-shot swings on the inward par-3s and got up-and-down on the 18th for a 3-under 68, the second straight day that no one had a better score. It gave the 40-year-old Swede his first 54-hole lead in a major, by one shot over Mickelson, who is going for his sixth major.Links golf can deliver some strange finishes, though this had all the trappings of a two-man race on Sunday.Stenson had his third straight round in the 60s -- no one has ever won at Royal Troon with all four rounds in the 60s -- and was at 12-under 201. He is trying to become only the eighth player dating to Old Tom Morris in 1861 to win his first major after turning 40.Mickelson, winless since he lifted golfs oldest trophy at Muirfield three years ago, had a 70.Lefty had made only three bogeys in his past 103 holes at Royal Troon dating to 1997, and a 25-foot birdie putt on the 13th hole gave him a two-shot lead. Stenson answered with a 5-iron to 6 feet for birdie, and Mickelson three-putted for bogey. They were tied.Mickelson regained the lead with a pitch to 4 feet for birdie on the par-5 16th, only for the Swede to answer again, this time with an all-out 3-iron into the wind on the 220-yard 17th hole to 20 feet. Mickelson fell behind when he missed the green to the left, and failed to hole a par putt from 18 feet.Everyone else felt like mere spectators.Bill Haas, a seven-time winner on the PGA Tour who is rarely heard from at majors, was solid with a 69 and alone in third. Its his highest position ever in a major, yet he was six shots out of the lead. Another shot back was Andrew Johnston, the Englishman with a big belly and beard to match who goes by Beef. He broke par for the third straight day with a 70.It was unlikely to matter.This was all about Stenson and Mickelson, two powerful players with different styles and different credentials.Unless someone goes out there and posts a silly number, Stenson said. But as of now, I would pretty much think its a battle of Phil and myself.I knoow he never backs down and hes one of the best players to play the game.dddddddddddd Im just going to try my hardest to keep him behind.Mickelson finished three shots ahead of Stenson three years ago at Muirfield when Lefty closed with a 66 in one of the best final rounds of a major. He hasnt won another tournament since then, and at age 46, it appeared his time was running out.Troon is where he first figured out the secret to links golf, and he has managed to avoid big numbers all week. He has made only four bogeys in 54 holes as he goes after a sixth major that would put him alongside Nick Faldo and Lee Trevino.He also would be the third-oldest major champion behind Julius Boros (48) and Morris, with whom Mickelson shares a birthday (June 16) 109 years apart. The 1861 Open was held in September.Mickelson didnt swing as well as the first two days. His short game, as always, was magic. No save was more unlikely than the 12th, where he pushed his tee shot toward trouble and was fortunate the ball deflected off a piece of prickly gorse. He had just enough room to hammer it up the fairway, and then played a shot rarely seen in links golf -- instead of running it up along the ground, he used his quick hands to produce enough backspin to bring it back down a ridge to 6 feet from the hole.It was a battle, and Mickelson held his own.I was under par on a difficult day, he said. It could have easily got away from me. I found a way to hang in there.That wasnt the case for so many others.U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson was working his way up the leaderboard until a shot into the gorse on the 11th led to a triple-bogey. Johnson made two double-bogeys the day before. Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark reached 8 under par until a double-bogey from thick grass on the 10th, and three more bogeys over the next four holes.Rickie Fowler started well until an 8 on the 11th hole.Mickelson-Stenson was the main event from the time they teed off. And it was like that when they finished. It was reminiscent of the 1997 PGA Championship at Winged Foot, when Davis Love III and Justin Leonard shared the 54-hole lead and were seven clear of everyone else. ' ' '