it wasn't hard to spot mickelson on wednesday. you had to do is look for the throngs of people who followed him everywhere he went. as you mentioned, not able to play a practice round until wednesday. arrived on long island tuesday night, but despite the departure in routine, mickelson appeared relaxed and confident wednesday and clearly happy to be back in a place that has embraced him as one of their own. >> i've actually been hitting the ball better than i have in a long time and possibly ever. i know it doesn't seem like it after my score at memphis. i didn't score very well. when amy's going through tests and i'm sitting in a hospital for ten hours, i would take a break and think about my goal swing. i would talk to butch, and i think that even though we didn't hit any balls, i actually got my swing to where we wanted it and i'm very optimistic about my ball striking this week. i think the key for me will be on the greens. i putted these greens very well in '02. if i can have a good putting week, i expect to be in contention

also ahead, phil mickelson. two beers! you got it! are you insured? do you know when your beer is perfectly cold? or do you risk drinking a warm one? if you have the new coors light cold-activated can, you're covered. because now every can turns blue when your beer... is as cold as the rockies. it's cold insurance, only from coors light. cold beer: that's our policy. frost-brewed coors light. the world's most refreshing beer. >> all right. and updating you in the national league, some games have gone final. the pirates beating the braves 3-2, cards battering the marlins, 13-4, the astros, a dramatic win 2-1 on a geoff blum rbi, but the phillies and mets continue to battle it out, top of the 11th inning, tied at four. bobby parnell on the mound. they just hit a home run. the phillies have. and so we have a 5-4 lead in that one in the top of the 11th inning. at least breaking that 4-4 tie, 2-0 reds-nationals, and they're three outs in the win, but in a rain delay. will they get to finish that one? >> more updates for you. looking to win his seventh stra

an emotional phil mickelson prepares to rejoin the pga tour as he and their family prepare to face their toughest test yet. brad childress speaks at last about the brett favre situation. he now says there was never a deadline. >> welcome to "espnews," your home for staying current with the very latest breaking news, scores, and highlights all in hd. along with mark morgan, i'm michelle lafontaine, and several key matchups, divisional rivalries, mets-phillies. but first? >> we started in fenway park, a wild one, game two of a three-game set between the yankees and the red sox. the two teams began tied for first in the american league east. look at him. boston led virtually throughout this game, but now the yankees have pulled within one run. johnny damon a solo shot, his 13th, and mark teixeira went yard as well, for teixeira his 19th of the season, he's 4 for 4, 19th homer of the season, two doubles as well, posada with a home run, damon, and also lowell with a shot and kevin youkilis as well for the red sox. the rays lead this one 9-1, aybar has two home runs in his last three games. re

and phil mickelson returns to competitive golf in memphis. steve will join us -- gene will steve will join us -- gene will join us ♪ (guy) you know, the beer you choose says a lot about you. you want friendly, but not pretentious. classic, never trendy. you want a real american beauty. (woman) are you talking about the budweiser? or me? yes. ♪ do you remember when making dinner meant finding just the right stick for your hot dog. when new every fork on the trail led to a new adventure? then keep the tradition going with great father's day gifts from bass pro shops. like the under armour tech t-shirt for only $19.99. and a garmin nuvi 255 gps for only $149.94. and don't miss the family summer camp going on now with lots of free activities. details at s. >> back on espnews. look at that mariners game. ichiro has ascored twice. top of the 7th. they're up 6-2 in baltimore. yankees just tied it up in boston. kevin millwood with a defensive gem you're going to see tonight on "baseball tonight." energy. that's just some of the games going on in majo

phil mickelson makes an emotional return to the pga tour weeks after he and his wife, amy, discovered she has breast cancer. cñgÑ >> back on "espnews" updating you as to what's going on in the national league, the pirates have beat the braves 3-2 after a late garrett anderson home run in the bottom of the ninth, they held atlanta off at turner field, reds with a 2-0 lead over the nats, and they're three outs away, but there's a rain delay in that one, and going into the bottom of the ninth, 4-4, the phils and the mets, cole hamels gave up those four runs, and the cardinals pummelling the marlins, 13-4, in the bottom of the ninth, just outs away, rick ankiel with a homer, and he scored three runs, and the rockies and brewers in the bottom of the sixth inning, brad hawpe had an rbi double in the fifth breaking the tie, astros tied at one, geoff blum an rbi groundout. >> angels and rays just finished up, lackey looking for a win, but he got bounced around. pena, opposite field, it's going to go. 18th home run of the season, rays up 6-3. bottom five, runner-up for willy aybar, and that is

mickelson's start on the back nine. this is his approach on the par 4, 10th. his first hole of the day. not a bad start. >> john daley back after i a six-month suspension. lost over 60 pounds. feeling good. talking the game and playing the game early on. he would birdie that and go to one under. daley forced to go to the drop zone. and a great recovery from the drop zone. he would bogie the hole. brian gay is at the top of the leaderboard. jose maria ole thawbal. and goosen shot 68's today. >> i got off to a great start. made a few, i guess, one really poor shot i drove in the water on 18 and made double. made a couple of birdies coming in, made good putts, gives me momentum for tomorrow. wasn't a great round, but it was a great start. i enjoyed playing. had a great pairing, padraig harrington and cameron beckman are such nice guys. we had an enjoyable round, and was able to hit a few good shots. and kind of get away a little bit. it will be nice to enjoy a little vacation before we start our treatment, too. >> it was almost like treatment for him to play afte

phil mickelson with mixed emotions, but no question about the result. espnews, swinging your way right now. [closed captioning provided by espn, inc.] >> welcome back to espnews. and quite a shot right there. along with jonathan coach man, i'm steve bunin, this is the place we keep you up to date on everything that's going on in the world of sports. ibanez has gone yard. more on that in moments. game 4 of the nba finals. the magic answered a lot of questions with their game 3 win. the question was could they take that incredible shooting into game 4, and even the series at 2 games apiece? >> kobe bryant said, hey, i didn't run into a wall. in game 3. heed owe turkoglu though. taking the scoring challenge. for the mets, he has 12 so far in the first half. >> but then, over j.j. redick. >> oh, i'll take kobe. kobe had to go to the bench. there's been a redick sighting, ladies and gentlemen. the jumper, and then the six-point game inside. and i believe i can see his tattoo. sorry, reebok. that's 37-29, just under 6 minutes to play. >> as soon as this game

an emotional phil mickelson prepares to rejoin the pga tour as he and his family prepare to

we've got all the baseball coverage, plus an emotional day for phil mickelson. but the golf was as good as you could expect it to be. [closed captioning provided by espn, inc.] >> with that, we welcome you to another half hour of espnews. now available in high definition. and where we always try to bring you up to speed on everything going on in the world of sports. you know, jonathan coachman. >> yes. >> i'm merely steve bunin. we've got a whole lot coming at you in the next half hour. lot of baseball to talk about. also, lefty on the golf course. john daley makes his return. but of course we're going to start this half hour, did i mention? the nba finals, too? is. >> i think so. >> we'll update that as well. they're getting ready to tip off in orlando. right now, major league action going on as we speak. zach greinke on the mound for the royals. pitching like zach greinke should. highlights of all these games coming up as soon as they're final. yankees-red sox. david ortiz, a solo shot. brad penny, c.c. sabathia. tremendous pitchers duel at fenway. and the met

jude classic, does phil mickelson go to the st.n the tournament, or does he almost use that as a practice round to prepare himself for bethpage? >> i think it's definitely going to be a practice round. obviously winning is such a positive and we saw with tiger woods, i mean, i think the thing from tiger woods that i took from a couple days ago from yesterday i guess is that he actually started on first tee in front of everybody when seven years ago he basically tried to avoid the public eye by starting on the third tee away from where all the people were. that said to me he was in such a good mood from winning the day before at the memorial. without a doubt winning helps. and i think winning would be a nice boost for mickelson coming into the bethpage black, but that said, it's there for practice. he's not there... he doesn't want to come away from this winning the st. jude and finishing tenth in the u.s. open. he wants to win the u.s. open and finish tenth at the st. jude. >> last thing, just watching him for as long as you were a

so phil mickelson, four under through 15. get up tomorrow, play 16, 17, 18, and then tee it up and play his third round weather permitting. >> there's john daly at even par and ryan gay your leader at ten under par. >> right now lebron is sick. kobe bryant is on the verge of winning a championship. that makes kobe, you know, takes him further away from lebron in terms of the best player in basketball. and he can't get in that discussion of the guys who have won the most championships. >> for somebody in our field to conclude, well, they just haven't been there, poppycock. cut me a break. it's the 110th game of the orlando magic's freakin' season. if the orlando magic make one were to plays and win the basketball game last night, where is the angst in the post-game press conference, might it be in kobe bryant's 11-31 performance? >> lamar odom, i'm sure you are all abused the candy thing blew up into the giant story it has. what's your comfort food after a good game, after a bad game? >> what do i like to eat? i like to eat pe

but i don't know exactly what we are facing yet. >> because of his wife's illness, phil mickelson haseen away from the tour for about a month. get this: since 2004 after layoffs of 28 days, mickelson averages 3 and a half shots more in the 1st round of tournaments than he did when he has shorter time off. he finishes 2 shots worse with a month off than with less time away. >> still to come: a lot to talk about. lakers. the penguins stanley cup finals. the phillies. we zone in. when you're really in pain, relief can't come fast enough. introducing bayer quick release crystals. it's ready to go to work faster than caplets or tablets. it's a whole new way from bayer to dissolve pain fast. new bayer quick release crystals. for her husband for father's day. he was big on music, he loves to host parties and he loves to be outside on the grill. right now what he uses is this old boombox. and that's when i said, "insignia rock speakers." they look like rocks. you can put them anywhere. they sound great. all weather. they blend in. "don't tell him about it. just hide the boombox from him." fat

. >> phil mickelson, started on the back nine.ree in the round. >> the birdie on the par three second straight birdie. eightth hole, another birdie opportunity. >> that one good as well. >> mickelson four under through three rounds. everyone chasing brian gay. gay holds the one shot lead over molder. >> the lpg championship. michelle wii on the par three seven. wii hole in one. lindsey wright, third shot on >>> da capo prez is one of the imprints of the perseus books groups and elicited is vice president at da capo press. ms. warren what are some of titles coming up? >> we have a wonderful biography of james monroe by washington, d.c. writer marlo james r. merkel the last founding father because he truly was one of the last founding fathers of the nation. >> why another biography on james monroe? >> this is more complete than the others. new information has been found through old archives and letters and records and we are finding there is a lot of patriotic interest out there so we want to be able to continue to feed the market >

three weeks after announcing his wife, amy, has breast cancer, phil mickelson makes his return to thethis week, the saipt jude classic in memphis. and amy will not be there with her husband, she will not be at next week's u.s. open but never far from her husband's mind. >> i never felt this emotional. i never have been this emotional where i am driving alone or something i will start crying, it is kind of a weird thing. i am looking forward to having a four or five hour mental break, if you will, where i force myself to focus on something else and i am looking forward to that. i am not playing just to play. i think that the golf course that suits my game and i love playing on that course and in the new york area, and i am playing here because i believe i can win next week. i don't know when i'll be able to -- when i will play again. i mean i just don't know what our treatment schedule will be like after surgery. i don't know really when that will happen. i don't think it's going to be for awhile, but i don't know exactly what we're facing yet. >> john daly also makes his return to the

one day after playing, mickelson played today. >> still to come, the penguins trying to avoid repeatingakers and magic getting ready for game three. hear about the final adjustments both teams will make. stay current with "espnews." ♪ ah, man, love that drinkability. drink-a what? drinkability. it's what makes bud light so incredibly refreshing. it's like a wave of refreshment, gently washing over your whole body. it's getting bigger. here comes the refreshment. [ sfx: screaming, wave splashing ] whew. well that almost never happens. easy drinking, always refreshing. bud light. the difference is drinkability. [ sfx: hairdryer ] no hard feelings. from hotwire.com. when four-star hotels have unsold rooms, they use hotwire to fill them... so you get the lowest prices, guaranteed. ♪ h-o-t-w-i-r-e ♪ hotwire.com

and phil mickelson with his return to the links after stepping away to be with his wife who is battlingreast cancer. hear his emotional word. and tom brady comes back from knee surgery, easier every day. part of rehab, playing with new teammates. the details ahead. @@úúxx >>> welcome back to nationa park. johnny holliday with rob dibble. the game delayed for two hours and 10 minutes because of rain. umpires are gathered around home plate. elijah dukes goes back to his base. >> rob: he is very impressive. i was taught rule of thumb, if it's an hour rain delay, the guy out there last, he's done for the night. you warm up somebody else. you have david weathers. chord row, two hours and 10 minute, he must really want there at bat. he's back out there. >> johnny: 117 and 109 saves in the national league. talk about a throw back guy. this guy wants to get out and play ball. >> rob: most of the time you do it to protect the guy. you go from humidity and rain and go sit in air conditioning climate inside the locker room. >> johnny: elijah dukes on 1st base. he had walked before the

and nobody started in the afternoon -- all these big players, els, garcia, goosen, kim, mcilroy, mickelsonmediate, perry, scott and villegas, none had a chance to put a peg in the ground. andy, because this is the u.s. open maybe we make this out to be worse than it really is. you were out there in it. how bad was it? >> it was miserable, absolutely miserable, one thing because it was 60 degrees and there was enough wind that there was wind chill going on but it was a struggle. i truly believe the players that didn't get started, that's going to be an advantage for them throughout the rest of the week. >> the fact they didn't have to get out and stop and start and deal with this at all. fingers crossed and hoping for friday's schedule -- the first round resumes at 7:30 a.m. by 10:00 a.m. those andy just spoke of who didn't play thursday will begin their first round hoping there are no weather interruptions. second round will begin by 4:00 p.m. does that seem a tad ambitious given how much water has fallen on this golf course? >> so much depends what happens over the next few hours. if we g

on the golf course, phil mickelson with mixed emotions, but no question about the results. espnews swinging your way, now. >> royals-indians a crazy one here. look at the seagulls. the ball goes past coco crisp into centerfield. that was the replay of a game-winning single. one-more look. oh, straight up the middle. 2 on. hits the seagull. good hands. coco crisp says what about the bird? and the indians come back, you know, they say stranger things have happened? hawks the bird for the game winner? certainly not tonight. but #-3 final. and zach grain kia lous three earned runs. his era coming in was 1.5. with that, we welcome you to another half hour of espnews. along with jonathan coachman, i'm steve bunin, we're in high def. we always keep you up to date with everything going on in the world of sports. game-winning home runs off of birds. raoul ibanez, with the game winning home run. lot of people wondering if the game shooting was an aberration. would they answer a lot of questions? what did they do in game 4? did kobe bryant hit the wall? or did he hit a bird? no, there

phil mickelson makes his return to the links after stepping away to be with his wife who is battlingt cancer. battli cancer. in eight minutes, hear his emotional words. do you remember when taking a bath and going for a swim became the same thing for a few days? and when making the perfect s'more meant burning three marshmallows before getting one just right? then keep the tradition going, at bass pro shops family summer camp. try the casting challenge and laser arcade. make a craft, try the archery range and take in a workshop. finish the day with s'mores around a campfire. and it's all free. find out more at basspro.com/camp. tigers in chicago. detroit had justin verlander on the mound looking to win his 7th straight decision. in the first the curveball and the fourth going back with the hook, and another curb. and the curveball and fastball working wednesday and verlander 7-0 and a league low 1.10 e.r.a. from april 27th. he goes the distance a six-hitter and struck out nine and game up one run and the first win at u.s. cellular field. and what to watch for thursday, game four of t

phil mickelson makes his return to the links after stepping away to be with his wife who is battlingt cancer. battli cancer. in eight minutes, hear his emotional words. >> the a.l. ce tigers in chicago. detroit had justin verlander on the mound looking to win his 7th straight decision. in the first the curveball and the fourth going back with the hook, and another curb. and the curveball and fastball working wednesday and verlander 7-0 and a league low 1.10 e.r.a. from april 27th. he goes the distance a six-hitter and struck out nine and game up one run and the first win at u.s. cellular field. and what to watch for thursday, game four of the nba finals, coverage kicking off at 8:30 eastern on abc. the man -- magic with the shooting touch. and a look at game four, specifically kobe bryant, here is mark jones and the crew. >> kobe bryant of the los angeles lakers, the nba's ultimate closer, unable to close the deal in the fourth quarter. usually cold and off from the free-throw line as well and the los angeles lakers on the short end of the four-point defeat. at the hands of the orlan

phil mickelson makes his return to the links after stepping away to be with his wife who is battlingt cancer. battli cancer. in eight minutes, hear his emotional words. do you remember when making dinner meant finding just the right stick for your hot dog. when new every fork on the trail led to a new adventure? then keep the tradition going with great father's day gifts from bass pro shops. like the under armour tech t-shirt for only $19.99. and a garmin nuvi 255 gps for only $149.94. and don't miss the family summer camp going on now with lots of free activities. details at tigers in chicago. detroit had justin verlander on the mound looking to win his 7th straight decision. in the first the curveball and the fourth going back with the hook, and another curb. and the curveball and fastball working wednesday and verlander 7-0 and a league low 1.10 e.r.a. from april 27th. he goes the distance a six-hitter and struck out nine and game up one run and the first win at u.s. cellular field. and what to watch for thursday, game four of the nba finals, coverage kicking off at 8:30 eastern o

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phil mickelson makes his return to the links after stepping away to be with his wife who is battlingt cancer. battli cancer. in eight minutes, hear his emotional words. hey, joe. if you could have a bud with anybody, who would it be? anybody? anybody. it'd be the guy that took me to my first ballgame. a guy who could command a room from a hundred miles away. it may go... popular. but humble. people loved the way he spoke. i just loved the way he listened. 5 to 4, i don't believe... here's to you, dad. what i just saw. i know when it's the perfect time to change my tires. when it comes to shaving i know when to change my blade. (announcer) gillette fusion's indicator strip fades to white when it may be time to change. fresh blade. better shave. do you remember when making dinner meant finding just the right stick for your hot dog. when new every fork on the trail led to a new adventure? then keep the tradition going with great father's day gifts from bass pro shops. like the under armour tech t-shirt for only $19.99. and a garmin nuvi 255 gps for only $149.94. and don't miss the famil

the crowd will shake the ground they walk on as phil mickelson is in the hunt.occo or bubba, most believe it will be tiger hoisting a 15th major championship come sunday night. tiger woods met the media todayf >> obviously the golf course is phenomenal.vious it's playing long this week. it's not exactly dry out there. and obviously this golf course t brings back some great memoriesc for many seven years ago, so, it's good to be back. it' i've enjoyed playing out here.'v the practice rounds have beenthe all good and i'm really lookingi forward to thursday. >> what is the most important thing to win this tournament?i is it the stroke?re >> as all u.s. opens, you have to drive the ball well, and this u.s. open with it being this wep and this long, the rough is so thick. is so th you have to get the ball inhe play. and then obviously greens are ao little bit flatter than normal. so just getting the ball on thet green, you're going to have a rietty good look at a putt. it will be curious to see how the usga sets it up.he s how much will they move the team around.s la

phil mickelson makes his return to the links after stepping away to be with his wife who is battlingt cancer. battli cancer. in eight minutes, hear his emotional words. boss: so you've been doing a nice job out there helping people save money on car insurance. gecko: aw thank you, sir. boss: but i think there are a few other things you can say about what a reliable company geico is. gecko: right. uh, well maybe how geico's the third-largest car insurance company in america? nice tidbit there. boss: exactly. and i've been thinking, looking a bit more businesslike might help too. gecko: oh my. uhhh, no it's, what's, what's the word... vogeico. 15 minutes could save you 15 percent or more on car insurance. soon there will be 1 trillion connected devices... in the world. can you hear them? food is talking to store shelves. cargo containers are talking to supply chains. power lines are talking to the grid. now that's smart. systems that allow carrots to tell truck drivers how fresh they are. roads alert cars about traffic patterns. cars alert mechanics before they break down. when things

phil mickelson makes a return to the pga tour just weeks after he and his wife discovered that she hasreast cancer. that's hades. you are watching espnews presented by: @@úúxx