getting lined up and running it, because the clock was running and that was crucial.PREGAME PROTESTA section of fans in the UNC student section raised their fists and remained seated i

GULLANE -- Two dozen cameras were in position Monday morning to capture the first big moment of this British Open, only they werent anywhere near the golf course. They waited in the driveway as a silver station wagon pulled through the gate and stopped in front of the clubhouse at Muirfield. Ernie Els climbed out of the back seat holding the shiny claret jug he won last year at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, and he promptly handed it over to Royal & Ancient chief executive Peter Dawson. "Thank you," Dawson told him. "Youve been a great champion." Now its up to the 43-year-old South African to reclaim the silver prize, and that doesnt figure to be easy. Els won last month in Germany. He won the last time the Open was played at Muirfield in 2002. He has more top 10s in the British Open than any other major. But he has this piece of history working against him -- the last major champion in his 40s to successfully defend his title was Old Tom Morris, and that was 151 years ago. The Big Easy is not a betting man, but he was asked to pick someone to wager a pound on at Muirfield. "Id have to look at the odds, wouldnt I?" he said, trying to buy time. "Maybe a long shot. I like to go for the long shots." Thats what he might have been considered last year at Royal Lytham. He was winless on a major tour in two years, failed to qualify for the Masters for the first time in nearly two decades and was No. 40 in the world. But he was close to flawless on the back nine and was the recipient of a shocking collapse by Adam Scott, who made bogey on his last four holes to finish one shot behind. Back to the wager. He was asked who should be considered in the pole position. "To name one, Im going to have to name 20," Els said. "Thats how close it is. I dont know. A guy who likes the layout. A guy who likes the bounces. Im not sure." That was a good start. There is nothing like links golf, with its humps and mounds along the fairways, a landscape framed by tall grass and dotted with pot bunkers. It can be played in the air when the grass is green during wet summers, or played on the ground when the course is crusty and yellow, which is the case this year at Muirfield. Els remembers his first experience with links golf, and he loved it right away. "The sound is different. The divot into the fairways are different. The whole experience is different than anything else around the world," Els said. "So its something youre either going to really like or youre not going to like. I was fortunate enough that I really fell in love with it." A long shot? Maybe someone like Jordan Spieth, the 19-year-old Texan who was headed toward another top finish on the PGA Tour until he holed a bunker shot for birdie on the last hole at the John Deere Classic, got into a playoff when Zach Johnson made bogey on the 18th, and won on the fifth extra hole. Next thing he knew, Spieth was on a charter flight to Scotland for his first British Open. He has experience with links golf, having played the Walker Cup at Royal Aberdeen in 2011. And for those who believe experience is required, Ben Curtis won in 2003 in his first major championship, let alone his first time playing links golf. Curtis reunited this week with Andy Sutton, the local caddie he hired at Royal St. Georges. Sutton was told of an American player looking for a caddie 10 years ago and had never heard of Curtis. Not to worry. A lot of Americans had never heard of him, either. Tiger Woods is always a favourite, and he has the best odds this week, even though he hasnt won the claret jug since Hoylake in 2006. Els is well aware of the quality of champions Muirfield tends to produce, from Harry Vardon and James Braid to Walter Hagen and Henry Cotton, from Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player to Lee Trevino and Tom Watson, along with Nick Faldo and Els. And yes, he believes the course has something to do with that. "Its just a wonderful design," Els said. "The par 3s are unbelievable. The par 5s have been changed a little bit -- theyre longer. Each and every hole is a little bit different. Theres left-to-right, right-to-left, and it all happens out there. Every links shot that you can imagine, youre going to play it this week." Els returned to Muirfield a few weeks ago, and he played a quiet nine holes Sunday evening. He remembers much about Muirfield, a course where he tied for fifth in his professional debut in 1992 and won a decade later. And there are some shots he is trying to forget, such as the double bogey on the 16th hole that nearly cost him a chance at having his name on that claret jug. Els had to make birdie on the par-5 17th and close with a par just to get into a four-man playoff over four holes, and he won in the first sudden-death moment in Open history over Thomas Levet on the fifth hole. Even then, Els hit into a bunker on the 18th and had to save par for the win. He certainly is not ruling himself out this week, not after the victory in Germany and his tie for fourth in the U.S. Open. Els might not win as much as he used to, but he plays the hard courses well. And with a forecast for dry weather and strong wind, this might be hard. The claret jug is the oldest trophy in golf, first awarded in 1873. Els took it around the world over the last year, as he did after winning in 2002. The jug stayed outside London the last two weeks, cleaned and buffed so it was shiny when he handed it back to the R&A.Joe Theismann Youth Jersey . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed. DaRon Payne Youth Jersey .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner. http://www.redskinsfansproshop.com/Redskins+Sonny+Jurgensen+Rush+Jersey.html?cat=1316 . The team says the Spain international has a muscle pull in his right leg. Barcelona hosts third-division side Cartagena in the return leg of their round-of-32 tie after winning their first meeting 4-1. DaRon Payne Womens Jersey . 31, the CFL club announced Monday. The team also has yet to decide on the future of Doug Berry, who began the season as a consultant to the head coach but took over the offensive co-ordinators duties in July. Derrius Guice Jersey .ca! Hi Kerry, Its another day and here we are looking at another dubious hit to the head. In this case Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky elbowed Saku Koivu in the head about a second after he dished off the puck to a teammate, knocking him unconscious.CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Mitch Trubisky kept scanning the field, delivering the ball on target with a cool composure for North Carolina -- down to when he made the games biggest play in the frantic final seconds.The junior threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Bug Howard with 2 seconds left to help the Tar Heels rally past Pittsburgh 37-36 on Saturday in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for two teams that finished 1-2 atop the Coastal Division last season.We had talked about before the game that we had an opportunity to establish the identity of this football team, UNC coach Larry Fedora said. And I can say theres a lot of grit in this football team for one, a lot of toughness -- all the intangibles that we need to be successful.Trubisky threw for career highs of 453 yards and five touchdowns for the Tar Heels (3-1, 1-0 ACC). His main target was Ryan Switzer, who tied a program record with 16 catches for 208 yards and a score.The Tar Heels never led until the final play and trailed by 13 with 6 minutes left. But Trubisky led a 17-play, 63-yard drive that included three fourth-down conversions in a stunning finish, sending UNCs players running onto the field to celebrate once they stopped Pitts final-play kick return.Everybody believed, man, Howard said. We had some fans leaving and stuff, people was giving up on us after they scored that last touchdown. But the defense had our back, we had their back, we told them if theyd get one more stop, were going to make it happen.Quadree Henderson ran for 107 yards to for the Panthers (2-2, 0-1), who ran for 281 yards but went three-and-out on their last two drives to give UNC its opening.When something like that (comeback) happens, you have to look at yourself first: Did I do everything I needed to do to get us a victory? Pitt defensive end Ejuan Price said. I think that answer is no.THE TAKEAWAYPITTSBURGH: Simply put, the Panthers have to get better against the pass. Dating to last weeks loss at Oklahoma State, Pitt has surrendered 993 yards through the air couldnt get a stop late -- even as coach Pat Narduzzi said he thought the team was a lot sounder this week.I thought our coaches did a great job putting them in position to make plays today, Narduzzi said. It comes down to, `Is that going to be a catch at the end?NORTH CAROLINA: Maybe the Tar Heels have a little more toughness than it appeared early.dddddddddddd Trubisky has settled into a mistake-free groove, and this could be a springboard for a team looking to repeat last years run of 11 straight wins to a division title.GROUND GAMESPittsburgh averaged 5.1 yards per carry even after losing 28 yards on a bad first-quarter snap, with James Conner among four players to rush for TDs. The Panthers held the Tar Heels to 18 yards rushing.CLUTCHThe Tar Heels completed all four of their fourth-down chances, the three on the final drive. Trubisky squeezed one throw through to Switzer on a fourth-and-6 for 15 yards, connected with Austin Proehl on another fourth-and-6 for 13 yards then went back to Switzer on for nine yards on fourth-and-9 with 51 seconds left.THE FINAL SEQUENCEThe Tar Heels had no timeouts as they got a first-and-goal from Pittsburghs 4-yard line with 31 seconds left.Trubisky couldnt connect with Howard on first down, then called a run play to Elijah Hood that was stopped in a time-burning pileup at the 2.As the clock ticked inside of 10 seconds, the Tar Heels lined up quickly for the winning throw.They gave us a look we wanted for the fade and Bug made a fantastic catch, Trubisky said, but credit to everyone for knowing their job, getting lined up and running it, because the clock was running and that was crucial.PREGAME PROTESTA section of fans in the UNC student section raised their fists and remained seated in protest during the pregame national anthem. Roughly 100 black and white students wearing black shirts participated, as well as at least two UNC marching-band members who took a knee -- one while raising a fist.Chapel Hill is about 140 miles northeast of Charlotte, where there have been protests this week following a fatal police shooting of a black man.UP NEXTPITTSBURGH: The Panthers step out of ACC play to host Marshall in the first meeting between the schools.NORTH CAROLINA: The rotating schedule of cross-division league games did the Tar Heels no favors. They travel to No. 13 Florida State for their first trip to Tallahassee since winning there in 2010.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap and the APs college football site at http://collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '