ARDMORE, Pa. -- Two-time champion Retief Goosen has withdrawn from the U.S. Open because of a back injury. The U.S. Golf Association said Thursday that the 44-year-old South African player, the tournament winner in 2001 and 2004, pulled out because of the injury that also forced him to withdraw from the Wells Fargo Championship and The Players Championship. Goosens spot in the June 13-16 event at Merion Golf Club will be added to the qualifying positions available at the 11 sectional qualifying sites June 3. Josh Reddick Jersey . Malkin got tangled up with Detroits Luke Glendening early in the third period and his left skate took the brunt of collision with the boards behind Pittsburghs net. Alex Bregman Astros Jersey . -- Charlie Graham stopped 67 shots as the Belleville Bulls edged the visiting Guelph Storm 6-5 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. https://www.cheapastros.com/1773o-jeff-bagwell-jersey-astros.html . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. Aaron Sanchez Astros Jersey . Howard Ganz, an MLB lawyer, said in a letter to U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos that Rodriguezs claims do not come "remotely close" to what is needed to overturn an arbitration decision in federal court. Kyle Tucker Jersey . Brandon Morrow allowed five runs on six hits over three innings. He struck out two, walked one and hit a batter. Edwin Encarnacion had a two-out, bases loaded two-RBI double in the third inning. Lets get two things out of the way right away before I try to build a case.One, the NHL has no intention of changing its current playoff structure.None, whatsoever, said commissioner Gary Bettman.Two, when it was suggested by an enterprising hockey writer that a play-in game might help stagnating league revenues, well, the commissioner disagreed. Not with the premise that a playoff game would help, but that revenues are stagnating. He even threw in a with all due respect to soften the blow.Its not stagnating, Bettman said. Its growing and will continue to grow.Got it. Everything is great.And when it comes to the playoffs, hes right. They are great. Stanley Cup playoff hockey is the best postseason in sports. Ill fight to the death on that one.Thats why its time for more.Parity is at an all-time high. As teammate Pierre LeBrun likes to say, the standings are like a crushed beer can. At the end of this season, were going to look at a team that finishes No. 9 in the conference and think that it would have had a really good chance at causing damage in the playoffs.As of Monday, the Tampa Bay Lightning, Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars are all outside a playoff spot. A good team is going to miss the postseason, a good team that could win a series or three if it makes it into the field.It makes the NHL absolutely primed for a play-in game.Let the No. 8 seed host the No. 9 seed in a game that allows the survivor to enter the big pool. Its not a novel idea.?Detroit Red Wings?GM Ken Holland pitched it in a recent interview with TSN. Lets not forget, this is the guy who gave us 3-on-3 overtime. So lets not just dismiss it.Its also been a part of baseball since 2012. The play-in game this year between the?San Francisco Giants and the New York Mets?on ESPN was the highest-rated wild-card game ever. It was the most streamed MLB event ever. It had an overnight rating of 5.8. The Stanley Cup finals averaged a 2.3. OK, that was low, but Im trying to make a point here.The drama would be irresistible. And it could be a way to get other networks involved annd invested in hockey.ddddddddddddImagine a one-game playoff between?Steven Stamkos Lightning and Alex Ovechkins Washington Capitals, two teams with Stanley Cup aspirations. The current standings suggest it wouldnt be out of the question. Or what about a one-game play-in game between Connor McDavids?Edmonton Oilers?versus Patrik Laines?Winnipeg Jets?People would watch. People would most definitely watch.Arizona Coyotes?co-owner Anthony LeBlanc certainly has noticed the success in baseball and it has him intrigued.I can just look at baseball from a fans perspective, it keeps people engaged in their team longer. Theres a chance they can get that final spot, LeBlanc said. Our league tends to have some competition coming in for those last couple spots the last couple of weeks, but not always. I kind of like it.OK, so we have an owner who sounds like he could be on board.What about the greatest player of all time?The more people, the more teams you can get in the playoffs, I think the bigger the recognition for our game gets, Wayne Gretzky told ESPN.com. I think its good.He did add that the league is usually smart about these things. So if they like it, great. If they dont, there might be a reason.Theyre always very reasonable about doing their homework and background checks on what is really good for the game, Gretzky said. If thats what they decide, great.Currently, 16 of 30 teams make the playoffs. Thats 53 percent of the league. Adding a play-in game in each conference along with Vegas would mean that 58 percent of the NHL could claim a playoff appearance.Maybe that cheapens the playoffs. Considering the excitement that would go into an annual play-in night, its worth the trade-off.At least thats the thought here.Commish?Random musings dont always turn into reality, Bettman said. You may think you can create a new reality, but the fact of the matter is we think the structure we have now works extraordinarily well. ' ' '