Phil Mickelson kept hearing the wrong tone of cheers coming from the 18th green, one after another, until he realized the singles match he was on the verge of winning would not prevent Europe from capturing the Ryder Cup.This was 1995 at Oak Hill, where he went 3-0 in his debut at the most fervent, flag-waving, fanatical three days of golf.Mickelson never could have imagined what would follow.That was the start of Europe winning eight out of 10 times, a dominance so pronounced that the mighty Americans were reduced over the years to soul searching, finger pointing and ultimately creating a Ryder Cup Task Force to figure out why they usually have the best players but rarely win.Maybe this time will be different. They seem to think that every two years.I think we have a completely different attitude and culture this time around, U.S. captain Davis Love III said.Even though the Americans have won only twice in the last 23 years, they will be seen as favorites again when the 41st Ryder Cup starts Sept. 30 at Hazeltine National in Chaska, Minnesota.The 11 players on the U.S. team -- one more captains pick will be announced Sunday night -- are among the top 30 in the world, including U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and PGA champion Jimmy Walker. They are playing on home soil and before the most raucous atmosphere in golf.Love said on SiriusXM a week before the matches that this is the best golf team maybe ever assembled.Europe, led by Darren Clarke, has a pair of major champions in Danny Willett (Masters) and Henrik Stenson (British Open). Willett is a Ryder Cup rookie. Stenson has been taking it easy because of a nagging knee injury. Europe has five other rookies who will be experiencing this high-charged atmosphere before an American crowd.The pressure, however, falls to the Americans.Europeans quietly mocked the U.S. team for creating its task force, which included Mickelson and Tiger Woods, Love and former Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman, all of them part of a losing culture in these matches.The task force brought Love back as captain for the second time -- he was in charge in 2012 when the Americans built a 10-6 lead going into Sunday singles and wound up watching another European celebration at Medinah. It extended the deadlines for making the four captains picks, saving the last one until after the Tour Championship to make sure the Americans had the best players possible.And it built a model geared toward continuity so that assistant captains could only be past captains or players considered to be future captains. Beyond that, it shifted decisions entirely away from the PGA of America so the players would be more involved.Look, we still have to play great golf to win, Mickelson said. And were still playing an incredibly talented team that has great players who shoot low scores. And were going to have a tough task. But the difference is were being put in a position to succeed because were going in with a proper game plan and every opportunity to play our best golf, as opposed to creating challenges though the week to overcome.Mickelson was largely responsible for this.Europe had little resistance in winning two years ago at Gleneagles in Scotland, and the American team appeared to be more dysfunctional than usual. The PGA of America selected Tom Watson as the captain, even though he was 69 and had not been to the Ryder Cup since he was the winning captain in 1993 (the year Spieth was born).Watson sat out Mickelson and Keegan Bradley all day Saturday.During the closing U.S. press conference, with Watson sitting at the same table, Mickelson questioned why the Americans got away from a winning formula -- in 2008 with Paul Azinger at the helm -- and that Watson didnt listen to have any player input.It was a bold move by Lefty, who put his image at risk with his public and blunt assessment of Watson.Nearly two years later, two questions remain: Was it worth it? Will it work?For all the talk about playing as a team, the nuances of foursomes (alternate shot) and making the right pairings, the Ryder Cup can be decided by the slimmest of margins. Europe won in 2012 on the strength of Justin Rose making a 45-foot putt that turned around his match with Mickelson. It won in 2010 mainly because Rory McIlroy escaped with a half-point against Stewart Cink. The 2002 Ryder Cup came down to Paul McGinley saving par on the final hole with an 8-foot putt (and Phillip Price, the No. 119 player in the world, beating Mickelson).And now Europe is try to win for the fourth straight time, which would be its longest streak.The United States still has a 25-13-2 record in the matches that date to 1927. The record, however, is misleading.Britain was reeling for a decade after World War II, and it took another decade for professional golf to return to a high standard. The Americans went 10-1 in the Ryder Cup during that span. And it was another decade before continental Europe was allowed to play.Dating to the modern era of the Ryder Cup in 1979, Europe leads the series, 10-7-1.And all that time, Europe never had to create a task force. Adidas Ultra Boost Outlet Store . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. Adidas Ultra Boost Clearance .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. http://www.cheapultraboost.net/ . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Adidas Ultra Boost Sale . -- Ryan Blaney provided more evidence that Penske Racings No. Adidas Ultra Boost Clearance Sale . Burris threw two TD passes, including a key 15-yard fourth-quarter strike to Bakari Grant that effectively countered a Toronto comeback bid and led Hamilton to a 33-19 victory. NEW YORK -- The Tampa Bay Lightning are unhappy with a recent stretch of inconsistent play. The New York Islanders might be borderline ecstatic to have the Lightnings problems.A pair of teams feeling internal -- and in the case of the Islanders, external -- pressure to turn things around face off Monday night, when New York hosts the Lightning at Barclays Center.Both clubs are coming off losses on Saturday night. The Lightning fell to the San Jose Sharks, 3-1, while the Islanders blew a two-goal third period lead and lost to the Florida Panthers, 3-2, in overtime.The Lightning (8-6-1) have alternated wins with losses over the last six games (3-2-1), a stretch that comes on the heels of a four-game losing streak (0-4-0). Despite the up and down stretch, Tampa Bay is just two points behind third-place Ottawa in the Atlantic Division and tied with the Detroit Red Wings for the final wild card spot.We need to get some consistency in our game -- we havent seen that, we play good game, bad game, Lightning center Steven Stamkos said following Saturdays defeat. We just havent put any good ones in a row.The Islanders (5-7-3) are having the same issues, albeit on a more serious scale. New York has won consecutive games just once this season and has lost seven of its last 10 (3-4-3).The Islanders have either led or been tied in the third period in seven of their 10 losses. They gave up the game-tying goal with 13.6 secoonds remaining in regulation on Saturday night.dddddddddddd.With just 13 points this season, the Islanders are only one point ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes for last place in the Eastern Conference and in danger of falling out of the playoff race by Thanksgiving.Just got to focus on the positives right now, Islanders head coach Jack Capuano said following Saturdays defeat. When youre going through a stretch like this, the last thing you want to do is have negativity. Theres enough negativity around, so we just want to have a singular focus, continue to concentrate and hopefully the breaks will come.A pair of No. 1 goaltenders are likely to be in net. Ben Bishop has started three of the last four games for the Lightning and took the loss on Saturday. Bishop earned the win over the Islanders in Tampa Bay last Thursday, when he stopped 26 shots in a 4-1 victory that improved his career record against New York to 6-4-1.Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak has cemented his standing by starting the last six games. He was pulled for backup Thomas Greiss in the second period Thursday, when he stopped just 13 of 16 shots. The loss dropped Halaks record against the Lightning to 4-3-0.The Lightning will be looking to sweep the season series from the Islanders, whom they also beat 6-1 on Nov. 1. ' ' '