Notre Dame women shock No. 1 UConn 73-72

STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Skylar Diggins and Notre Dame just seem to have Connecticut's number.
The Irish have turned one of the best rivalries in women's basketball into a one-sided affair lately, winning five of the past six meetings.
The senior All-American scored 19 points hitting big shot after big shot in the second half to lift fifth-ranked Notre Dame to a 73-72 victory over the top-ranked Huskies on Saturday.
This was the latest victory for the Irish (12-1, 1-0 Big East), who also ended UConn's season the past two years by beating the Huskies in past two Final Fours.
"I think when we play them, there is a lot on the line, whether it is a Big East Championship or them being ranked higher than us or in the Final Four," Diggins said. "This is good for us."
No team has had this kind of success against UConn in the past 20 years.
The last team to beat UConn five out of six times was Miami back in the early 1990s — before the Huskies started winning national championships.
The Irish were expected to be down this season with three starters graduated. It didn't matter with Diggins still on the team.
With UConn poised to pull away in the second half, Diggins hit back-to-back 3-pointers to keep her team in the game.
Later with the shot clock about to run out, Diggins hit a leaner from the wing.
Finally, with the Irish down by one with 49 seconds left, she got fouled on a drive and calmly sank both free throws. It would be the last points of the game.
"I think Skylar has changed things for us," Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said. "She believed we can win and has the confidence and that is contagious."
The Huskies (12-1, 0-1) had a few chances to pull out the win in the final 30 seconds, but in front of a sellout crowd of 10,127, they fell short.
Breanna Stewart had her shot blocked in the lane. The Huskies maintained possession and then after a timeout, Stewart missed a jumper from the top of the key. Kelly Faris grabbed the rebound giving UConn one more chance, but Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis caught the ball in the corner and her wide-open 3 fell off the rim.
The Irish grabbed the loose ball and Diggins ran out the clock.
"How many times can we put up our defense," McGraw said. "I thought about our football team getting that goal line stand (against Stanford) three times in a row, if they can do it, we can do it."
The Irish women were headed down South after the game to get ready for Tuesday's contest against South Florida. Notre Dame was going to first spend a day in Orlando.
McGraw laughed at the thought that her team would head to Disney World after beating the No. 1 team in the country. She put the victory in perspective.
"It's great to win when they are ranked No. 1," she said. "It's great for our team, but it's still January 5. We're just trying to get better."
The Huskies had come into the game unbeaten and a week earlier had stunned then-No. 1 Stanford 61-35 on the Cardinal's homecourt ending their 82-game home winning streak. They had already beaten five ranked teams by an average of 24 points.
"It's definitely been an up and down week" said Stefanie Dolson, who scored 17 points to lead Connecticut. "We were all extremely excited and on a high when we beat Stanford the way we did. We came into this game and we weren't ready. I don't think we were ready for how hard Notre Dame was going to come at us. They out-toughed us."
UConn trailed by two at the half and took a 48-44 lead on Dolson's layup with 16:18 left in the game. The Huskies led 63-60 with 8 minutes left before Notre Dame scored five quick points. Neither team could get more than a two-point lead the rest of the way.
Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma was OK with the shots his team got in the end.
"You got the best 3-point shooter in the country with a wide open 3 to win it and it doesn't go in," he said. "I'd be more upset if the wrong guy took the wrong shot at the wrong time. We came out of timeout and got the shot we wanted and it didn't go in."
Mosqueda-Lewis finished with 17 points.
Stewart, the high school player of the year last season, scored all 10 of her points in the second half after missing her first five shots. She also had six blocks and nine rebounds.
"She looked out of sorts a little bit, struggled a little bit," Auriemma said. "But then again you think about what she did, 10 points, nine rebounds, six blocks, that's not a bad day. I think that's what we expect from her. Shots she missed we come to expect she'll make all those."
The Irish won both regular-season meetings last year, before being blown out in the Big East championship game. They won the decisive meeting in the Final Four, 83-75, in overtime.
Notre Dame's lone defeat this season came at home to No. 2 Baylor, 73-61, on Dec. 5.
The two teams, who have played 12 times over the past four seasons, will play again in South Bend on March 4, in the final game of the regular season.
It's not certain if the two teams will play again after Notre Dame leaves for the Atlantic Coast Conference.
UConn led 18-15 midway through the first half before Notre Dame went on a 12-2 run sparked by Kayla McBride, who led Notre Dame with 21 points. She had back-to-back jumpers. Michaela Mabrey hit a 3-pointer and Natalie Achonwa a free throw to cap the burst.
Mabrey's second 3-pointer of the half gave the Irish a 34-26 lead with 5 minutes left in the half before UConn closed with a 12-4 burst to make it 38-36 at the break.

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Kelly wants Notre Dame keeping bar at title height

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Win or lose, Notre Dame's Brian Kelly doesn't want his team aiming any lower than the national championship game in the future.
Kelly said Sunday "it's unacceptable for the standard to be any less than being back here again." First things first, his top-ranked Fighting Irish will face No. 2 Alabama Monday night hoping for their first national title since 1988.
Kelly has been in national title games before. He led Division II Grand Valley State to championships in 2002 and 2003. For the last one, the team stayed mostly unnoticed in a Best Western and there was so much less buildup that it "was just another game."
He says "it's a totally different feeling for this one."
As for his pregame message, Kelly says he typically goes 80 percent by what he senses from his team.

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Study Validates Elastic Resistance is Effective in Achieving Muscle Hypertrophy, Announces Performance Health

Recent study shows that strength training with elastic bands and tubing is as effective as machine-based strength training.

Akron, OH (PRWEB) January 08, 2013
Despite the affordability, versatility, portability and popularity of elastic resistance exercise, there has been debate over its use for increasing muscle hypertrophy and strength. This debate persists despite several studies finding that elastic resistance is as effective if not better than isotonic resistance machines (Colado & Triplett 2008, Sundstrup et al. 2012). A study(1) conducted by Dr. Saied Jalal Aboodarda and colleagues further supports the use of elastic resistance devices as cost effective modes of training for muscle strength and hypertrophy in healthy individuals.
In this study, which was published in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, researchers compared Thera-Band® elastic bands to Nautilus® weight machines on muscle strength and muscle damage on nine healthy male subjects. Each participant performed five sets of ten repetition maximum knee extension exercises with a Thera-Band elastic band and on the exercise machine. The participants were tested for their maximum quadriceps strength, delayed onset muscle soreness and indicators of muscle damage. The researchers found that both the elastic resistance and machine-aided exercises produced the same amount of muscle damage, which has been shown to be the underlying mechanism of further muscle hypertrophy(2). The researchers concluded that both modes of training provide a similar training stress, despite lower force generation during the elastic-resisted exercise.
“While popular in the rehabilitation setting, elastic bands and tubing are often underutilized in strength training. This stems from an unfounded assumption that elastic resistance products can only provide a low level of external force and is therefore limited in providing an appropriate resistance/stimulus for strength,” stated Dr. Phil Page, Director of Clinical Education and Research for Performance Health and author of Strength Band Training.
The authors concluded their paper with, “Considering that an elastic resistance device has long been accepted as an affordable, portable and versatile exercise training aid compared with other training equipment such as the Nautilus machine, the present data support the use of an elastic resistance device as a cost effective mode of training for achieving further muscle strength and hypertrophy in healthy individuals. This is contrary to many previous investigations that have rejected the potential of utilizing an elastic resistance device in athletic settings, because of a perception that an elastic resistance device does not provide adequate training stress.”
“We are grateful to the researchers for their work on this study, just one more among many others that validate the effectiveness of our Thera-Band resistance products,” concluded Page.
About the Academy

The Thera-Band® Academy was formed to scientifically document the benefits of resistance exercise and pain relief, guide the company in its development of new products and exercise programs, and to promote therapeutic exercise and pain management through professional and consumer education. The Academy web site is a unique resource that connects healthcare professionals and consumers to the ever growing body of knowledge on exercise. Registration is free and provides access to the largest database of rehab exercises, protocols, research and education in the world.
About Performance Health

Featuring leading brands like Thera-Band®, Biofreeze® and Pedigenix®, Performance Health offers a broad portfolio of products for the therapy, rehabilitation, wellness, massage, podiatric and performance markets. In addition to market-leading products, Performance Health provides practice building support, evidence-based protocols, clinical and product education, turn-key dispensing and pain management solutions.

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Global economy: U.S. and China leave feeble Europe in their wake

Complete Auto Loans is happy to announce 25 new approvals for consumers needing bad credit auto loans financing.

Seattle, Wa (PRWEB) January 08, 2013
For most consumers, taking advantage of a great deal or opportunity is great anytime. With yearly specials and discounts in full bloom, Complete Auto Loans is happy to announce even more approvals for car owners needing financing for bad credit auto loans.
Drivers aren’t always able to get approval for the new or used vehicle they need. Those who haven’t, are simply going to http://www.completeautoloans.com/auto-financing/ and getting approved for the vehicle they need for their budget.
Because CAL is providing more financing than ever for bad credit auto loans, drivers are getting the vehicle they need. This is a great way to help make the road safer for everyone driving.
Not only are drivers getting reliable vehicles, they are also finding a new or used car or truck that fits best and provides good functionality. This is making it possible for consumers to help take care of whatever household or work needs they have. Complete Auto Loans is making the whole application process easy by allowing drivers to focus on getting the vehicle that is right for them – rather than just focus on trying to get approved for an auto loan.
Consumers going to http://www.completeautoloans.com/bad-credit-auto-loans/ are finding it easier than ever to use the simple approval auto loan form. They are just visiting the site, and receiving approval for the next car or truck that they need – and all from the ease of their own computer. Getting financing for bad credit auto loans is as simple as completing the online form provided for auto loans.
Because drivers can experience issues with reliability with their vehicle, financing for an auto loan works out well for upgrading to good transportation. Sometimes a car or truck just needs to be updated, or is no longer useful and getting a good vehicle is helping drivers keep moving forward.
With Complete Auto Loans providing even more bad credit auto loans, the year is bringing even more good news. Drivers no longer have to wait in long lines, or even traffic. They are simply going online to http://www.completeautoloans.com and getting financing for the bad credit auto loans they need.

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Complete Auto Loans Announces 25 New Approvals for Consumers Needing Bad Credit Auto Loans Financing

Complete Auto Loans is happy to announce 25 new approvals for consumers needing bad credit auto loans financing.

Seattle, Wa (PRWEB) January 08, 2013
For most consumers, taking advantage of a great deal or opportunity is great anytime. With yearly specials and discounts in full bloom, Complete Auto Loans is happy to announce even more approvals for car owners needing financing for bad credit auto loans.
Drivers aren’t always able to get approval for the new or used vehicle they need. Those who haven’t, are simply going to http://www.completeautoloans.com/auto-financing/ and getting approved for the vehicle they need for their budget.
Because CAL is providing more financing than ever for bad credit auto loans, drivers are getting the vehicle they need. This is a great way to help make the road safer for everyone driving.
Not only are drivers getting reliable vehicles, they are also finding a new or used car or truck that fits best and provides good functionality. This is making it possible for consumers to help take care of whatever household or work needs they have. Complete Auto Loans is making the whole application process easy by allowing drivers to focus on getting the vehicle that is right for them – rather than just focus on trying to get approved for an auto loan.
Consumers going to http://www.completeautoloans.com/bad-credit-auto-loans/ are finding it easier than ever to use the simple approval auto loan form. They are just visiting the site, and receiving approval for the next car or truck that they need – and all from the ease of their own computer. Getting financing for bad credit auto loans is as simple as completing the online form provided for auto loans.
Because drivers can experience issues with reliability with their vehicle, financing for an auto loan works out well for upgrading to good transportation. Sometimes a car or truck just needs to be updated, or is no longer useful and getting a good vehicle is helping drivers keep moving forward.
With Complete Auto Loans providing even more bad credit auto loans, the year is bringing even more good news. Drivers no longer have to wait in long lines, or even traffic. They are simply going online to http://www.completeautoloans.com and getting financing for the bad credit auto loans they need.

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Riches in niches: U.S. cops, in-flight movies may be model for Panasonic survival

TOKYO (Reuters) - Panasonic Corp's answer to the brutal onslaught on its TV sales may be in a product the Japanese firm launched 17 years ago and which is a must-have for U.S. police cars.
Two thirds of the 420,000 patrol cars in the United States are equipped with the company's rugged Toughbook computers, and Panasonic chief Kazuhiro Tsuga sees the niche product as a model for how the sprawling conglomerate can make money beyond a gadget mass market increasingly dominated by Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc.
"What we need are businesses that earn, and they don't necessarily have to have big sales," Tsuga told reporters after his appointment as company president was approved in June.
Tsuga also sees avionics - Panasonic is the world's leading maker of in-flight entertainment systems - automated production machinery, and lighting as profit earners as income from TVs and other consumer electronics dwindles.
Panasonic, Sony Corp and Sharp Corp have been hit hard by South Korean-made TVs, Blu-ray players and mobiles and Apple tablets that threaten to wipe out Japan as a global consumer electronics hub. The Toughbook, sold only to businesses and governments, was conceived as a response to the type of profit sapping competition that is now roiling TVs.
"At the time, we were losing in personal computers to Compaq and IBM," said Hide Harada, who heads the Toughbook unit from the group's headquarters in Osaka, western Japan. IBM later sold its laptop business to China's Lenovo Group and Compaq was absorbed by Hewlett Packard.
"It was a guerilla strategy," Harada said, recalling the Toughbook's launch in 1996. Panasonic's promotion campaign included driving jeeps over its computers, dropping them on the ground and dousing them with coffee on morning TV shows.
At rival Sony, too, signs of a niche strategy are emerging in a battle with Apple and South Korean brands that are making gains from a weaker won currency. Combining technologies from several divisions - from projectors to video cameras and headphones - Sony's 3D Viewer head-mounted visor gives users the feel they are sitting in the middle of a 500-seat movie theater.
The target audience, says product manager Hideki Mori, are those consumers looking to immerse themselves in computer graphics and high quality movies. "Demand has been greater than anticipated," he said, declining to give specific sales numbers.
LOSING GROUND
The two Japanese firms will show off their wares at this week's annual CES consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, an event usually dominated by prototypes for next-generation TV technology. Tsuga is due to deliver the event's keynote speech.
In the past, the Japanese have showcased ultra high-definition 4K televisions, while Samsung and LG Electronics Inc have displayed their ultra-thin OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screens. But, at a price tag likely 10 times that of conventional LCD screens, consumers will take a while to make the generational leap.
Meanwhile, losses at Panasonic, Sony and Sharp mount up. Panasonic has predicted a net loss of $8.9 billion in the year to end-March, while Sharp, which has been bailed out by banks, expects an annual loss of $5.24 billion. Helped by asset sales, Sony should eke out a small profit.
Japan's share of the flat panel TV market has shrunk by around a quarter in the past two years, to around 31 percent, according to the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association. Amid a prolonged strong yen squeeze, the industry lobby expects Japan's share of the DVD and Blu-ray disc player market to have dropped to around half last year from nearly two-thirds in 2010. Just 8 of every 100 mobile phones sold globally are now Japanese. Manufacturers have shifted TV production overseas, with output in Japan now less than a tenth of what it was two years ago.
Tsuga, who acknowledges Panasonic is a "loser" in consumer electronics, has warned his business units they will be closed or sold if they fail to match Toughbook's success, giving each two years to deliver at least a 5 percent operating margin.
Any niche-winning strategy that takes his company away from mass market products means Tsuga will need fewer workers, investors say. Panasonic is Japan's biggest commercial employer with a workforce of more than 300,000. It plans to axe 10,000 jobs in the year to March on top of the 36,000 that were cut in the previous year. More big cuts in Japan, where major lay-offs are uncommon and severance packages expensive, won't be easy, said Yuuki Sakurai, CEO at Fukoku Capital Management in Tokyo, which manages assets worth $18.4 billion, but doesn't own Panasonic stock.
"It's like trying to chase the course of a battleship. If they want to become a light cruiser or destroyer, they'll have to lose employees," Sakurai said.
GLOBAL STANDARD
Workers Panasonic will likely keep are those in Kobe in western Japan who build the Toughbook PCs - a category defined by a U.S. military quality benchmark that serves as a de facto global standard. Its market share is on a par with Apple's in tablets, with most U.S. police departments willing to pay as much as $3,000 for the rugged laptops which can withstand bumpy high-speed chases and other rigors of street policing.
"They have been near bullet-proof. We had a patrol car catch fire and after all the heat, smoke and water dissipated the computer continued to function," said Bill Richards, logistics commander for the Tucson police in Arizona, whose force owns close to 650 Toughbooks that connect patrol cars with dispatchers, license records and other police databases.
Other customers include the New York Police Department, California Highway Patrol, Brazilian Military Police and British and U.S. military, which use them on unmanned aerial drones.
"Panasonic is the bellwether, the most recognized brand. The Toughbook is almost synonymous with rugged notebooks," said David Krebs, a vice president at VDC Research.
While margins in the global PC market are getting slimmer - research firm IHS iSuppli sees annual sales growth of around 7 percent over the next four years from about 216 million PCs last year - the premium-price, fatter margin, rugged PC niche is seen growing by around 10 percent a year to nearly 1.2 million computers by 2016, according to VDC Research.
ANALOG EDGE, DIGITAL SAMENESS
At the Kobe factory, Toughbooks are put through their paces: hosed down to test water resistance, baked to 50 degrees Celsius, chilled to minus 20 degrees and dropped on their tops, bottoms, sides and corners.
Harada describes it as an analog edge in digital products.
"Whoever makes them, the insides of a computer are pretty much the same. It's the mechanical side that makes us different," he explained.
The creators of Sony's 3D Viewer, too, are looking for mechanical appeal as much as electronic prowess. A second, redesigned model, which is now on sale in Japan, is 25 percent lighter at 330 grams, has a better grip and gives users the option of headphones or earplugs, said Mori. "We want to make it lighter," he added, noting engineers are looking to slim down the heaviest component, the lenses.
While Sony keeps chasing consumers, Panasonic is pursuing a business-to-business niche market model that Tsuga has put at the heart of his revival plan. High on Harada's target list for the Toughbook are Japanese police forces, which don't yet buy the computers.
There are no plans, he said, to make cheaper mass market models - which could protect some jobs in the group.
"We aren't going to put it in Best Buy or Walmart. I don't think it would turn out well.

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Anderson scores career-high 27 points, but Raptors lose 104-92 to Thunder

TORONTO - Russell Westbrook scored 23 points and Kevin Durant added 22 of his own to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder over Toronto 104-96 on Sunday, handing the Raptors their second straight loss after they had won eight of nine.
Alan Anderson scored a career-high 27 points — 19 of them in the second quarter — to top Toronto (12-22). Amir Johnson finished with 19 points and nine rebounds. Jose Calderon had 10 points to go with 11 assists, while DeMar DeRozan added 11 points.
Serge Ibaka added 19 points for the Thunder (26-7), while Kevin Martin had 16.
The Raptors held their own for the first half thanks to a sizzling second quarter that saw Anderson drain four three-pointers and Kyle Lowry add a pair. Lowry, who finished with 10 points and eight assists, made like he was tucking a three-fingered gun in his holster after one.
But after trailing the Thunder by just two points at halftime, Oklahoma City put 15 points on the home team by late in the third quarter and took a 78-67 lead into the final 12 minutes.
Toronto pulled to within nine early in the fourth but couldn't make up any more ground on one of the league's top teams. A three-pointer by Lowry with three and half minutes to go had the Raptors within 13, but Westbrook drained a three on the Thunder's next possession, Kendrick Perkins scored on an emphatic dunk and it was game over for Toronto in their third of a six-game homestand.
Raptors coach Dwane Casey called the game a chance for his players to test themselves against the best in the league.
"It's the whole team," Casey said. "They've done probably one of the best jobs in the league in building a program and developing players from scratch. They're king of the hill now.
"You can go right down the line, everybody knows their role, they know their position, they know who they are. Westbrook is one of the top point guards in the league, Durant is the top 3-4 in the league."
The Raptors played their 10th straight game without forward Andrea Bargnani, sixth without rookie forward Jonas Valanciunas, and third minus Linas Kleiza — creating what Casey called "a chemistry lab" of different lineups.
On top of that, Raptors rookie Terrence Ross left the game a minute into the fourth quarter with a sprained left ankle.
Ibaka scored 10 points in the opening quarter, with his dunk giving the Thunder an 11-point lead just seven minutes into the game. The Thunder led 23-18 to end the first.
Toronto went on a 21-8 run early in the second, capped by a three-pointer by Lowry that gave the Raptors a five-point lead. It was short-lived, however, and Oklahoma City had a 52-50 advantage at halftime.
Notes: Raptors forward Aaron Gray (stomach bug) didn't dress. ... Former Raptors guard Muggsy Bogues was at the game. ... The Raptors host Philadelphia on Wednesday, Charlotte on Friday and Milwaukee next Sunday to cap their six-game homestand.

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PGA Tour's season opener delayed again

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) — For those who think the PGA Tour season never ends, here's a new twist: This one can't get started.
The season-opening Tournament of Champions was postponed for the second straight day because of gusts that topped 40 mph and made it impossible to play golf. Unlike the previous day when 24 players managed to tee off, no one hit a shot Saturday on the Plantation Course at Kapalua.
"We tried as best we could," said Slugger White, the tour's vice president of rules and competition. Play was delayed three times before it was called for the day.
The season now starts Sunday — that's when most tournaments end — with hopes of playing 36 holes, followed by an 18-hole finish Monday.
It will be the first time the Tournament of Champions is reduced to 54 holes since 1997, when Tiger Woods hit a 7-iron to a foot to beat Tom Lehman in a playoff when a par 3 at La Costa was the only hole that could be used because of so much rain.
Players arrived in darkness and never got farther than the practice range. The wind has been relentless for two days, and it was clear early on there would be trouble. The back nine of the Plantation Course is higher up the mountain and more exposed. White and the rules officials found that golf balls kept moving on the 10th, 11th and 13th holes.
"On the 10th hole, we dropped a ball on the back of the green and it rolled 20 yards off the front," White said.
He said the wind caused another ball to roll uphill.
The forecast is slightly better for Sunday and Monday, with strong wind in the morning gradually abating through the day. Even so, the Plantation Course is a long walk with severe changes in elevation, which figures to be brutal on the caddies. White said they were considering offering more shuttle rides on portions of the course to help.
"It's just a little too windy out there for us to play," Brandt Snedeker said. "If the course wasn't so exposed, it wouldn't be a problem. But you have a lot of greens exposed to 40 mph wind gusts. It's tough to make that call. They did the right thing. We had to try to play today if we wanted to try to get 72 holes in."
The PGA Tour has weather guidelines with an emphasis to play 72 holes, even going a fifth day provided the forecast allows for it.
But this is different.
The tour opted last year for a Monday finish to try to stay away from NFL playoffs, and finish before the BCS championship game. The Sony Open in Honolulu starts on Thursday, and it's no small task to get the television and other tournament equipment to another island.
If the tournament doesn't end by mid-afternoon on Monday, the Sony Open would have a limited TV operation for its opening round on Thursday. The only way the Tournament of Champions would stretch into Tuesday would be if 54 holes could not be completed. Then, there would be no television coverage.
"It's a unique situation," said Andy Pazder, chief of operations for the tour. "It's a 16-hour barge trip, in good weather."
Pazder said the tour would not be inclined to follow its weather guidelines for a 72-hole event "because of the impact of next week's tournament." But he said the tour was not inclined to go back to a Sunday finish for Kapalua.
Meanwhile, the seven players who chose not to play in this winners-only event were feeling much better about the decision. Luke Donald, who typically takes a long break over the winter, said in a tweet to Ian Poulter, "give me a call — I'll tell you how calm and sunny it is over here on the East Coast! Haha."
Poulter's reply: "missing you."
The weather was as fickle as ever. One moment, photographers stood behind the first tee under clearing skies to capture idyllic images of the blue Pacific, filled with white caps, and a hint of orange around the puffy clouds. Five minutes later, everyone was scrambling for cover as another rain shower moved in and cut off any view of the water.
But this isn't about the rain.
"With these gusts, the ball is basically moving on its own," Hunter Mahan said. "It doesn't make for good golf, good scores. It's not fun for anybody out there."
Mahan has hit three shots this year, and they don't even count. The scores of the 20 players who finished at least one hole Friday were wiped clean. Mahan was playing with Zach Johnson, whose first putt went 10 feet by the hole. Mahan began to settle over his putt and the wind blew it a few feet closer to hole.
"I knew we were in trouble then," he said. "I was watching on TV, and I can't believe we got on the tee box."
The forecast provided enough optimism that the first round of the year would be completed — finally — on Sunday, and as long as the wind died, there should be enough time to get in 36 holes and head for the Monday finish.
Perhaps that bodes well for Dustin Johnson. He has won the last two 54-hole events on the PGA Tour, at The Barclays in 2011 and the Pebble Beach National Pro-am in 2009.

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UPDATE 1-Golf-Play again abandoned at wind-swept Kapalua

* PGA Tour's season opener cut to 54 holes
* Gusts up to 40mph make course unplayable (Adds quotes, detail)
Jan 5 (Reuters) - The Hawaiian island of Maui was no paradise on Saturday when the official start of the 2013 PGA Tour was postponed for a second consecutive day because of strong gusting winds at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
First-round play in the PGA Tour's season-opening event was entirely scrapped on Friday because of similar conditions and hopes of playing 36 holes on Saturday were abandoned after the re-scheduled start had three times been pushed back an hour.
With the weather expected to improve slightly over the next two days, organisers said they planned to complete 36 holes on Sunday and 18 on Monday in a tournament now cut to 54 holes.
Winds gusted up to 40mph (64.4 kph) across the Kapalua Resort's Plantation Course on Saturday, making the par-73 layout unplayable.
On some of the more exposed holes on the back nine, golf balls rolled uphill when dropped on the greens as a test by officials.
"We tried as best we could," Slugger White, the PGA Tour's vice president of rules and competition, told reporters. "We got balls rolling all over the green, so we have cancelled play for the day,
"I dropped a ball on the 10th green, on the back of the green ... and it rolled 20 yards off the front. We did have balls that were going uphill on (hole) 10 about foot and a half.
"Forecast for tomorrow is a little better, (winds) 15 to 25 mph with gusts, maybe, to 30. A little less moisture, more like pineapple showers than these downpours that we have had."
NO SHOT STRUCK
While 24 players in the elite, winners-only field of 30 were able to tee off on Friday before the first-round scores were wiped out, not a single shot was struck on Saturday.
"If the course wasn't so exposed, it wouldn't be a problem but you have a lot of greens exposed to 40 mile-an-hour wind gusts," said FedExCup champion Brandt Snedeker.
"It's tough to make that call. They (officials) did the right thing. We had to try to play today if we wanted to try to get 72 holes in. Unfortunately a short day, but hopefully we'll get out tomorrow and get some golf."
Fellow American Hunter Mahan, a double winner on the PGA Tour last year, agreed that conditions had been unplayable.
"With these gusts, the ball is basically just moving on its own," he said. "That doesn't make for good golf and good scores or fun for anybody to be out there right now.
"We all are trying to figure out what to do and what's the best plan for us to get ready for the next two days or three days."
U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson had been the early leader in Friday's aborted round, moving to three under par after just seven holes before the players were summoned off the course.
Swede Jonas Blixt was at one under after five holes, a stroke in front of compatriot Carl Pettersson (after one hole) and Americans Kyle Stanley (four), Ryan Moore (three), Johnson Wagner (two) and Scott Piercy (one).
Veteran American Steve Stricker, who won last year's Hyundai Tournament of Champions by three shots to clinch his 12th PGA Tour title, was among the six players who did not tee off on Friday.

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Play again abandoned at wind-swept Kapalua

The Hawaiian island of Maui was no paradise on Saturday when the official start of the 2013 PGA Tour was postponed for a second consecutive day because of strong gusting winds at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
First-round play in the PGA Tour's season-opening event was entirely scrapped on Friday because of similar conditions and hopes of playing 36 holes on Saturday were abandoned after the re-scheduled start had three times been pushed back an hour.
With the weather expected to improve slightly over the next two days, organizers said they planned to complete 36 holes on Sunday and 18 on Monday in a tournament now cut to 54 holes.
Winds gusted up to 40mph across the Kapalua Resort's Plantation Course on Saturday, making the par-73 layout unplayable.
On some of the more exposed holes on the back nine, golf balls rolled uphill when dropped on the greens as a test by officials.
"We tried as best we could," Slugger White, the PGA Tour's vice president of rules and competition, told reporters. "We got balls rolling all over the green, so we have cancelled play for the day,
"I dropped a ball on the 10th green, on the back of the green ... and it rolled 20 yards off the front. We did have balls that were going uphill on (hole) 10 about foot and a half.
"Forecast for tomorrow is a little better, (winds) 15 to 25 mph with gusts, maybe, to 30. A little less moisture, more like pineapple showers than these downpours that we have had."
NO SHOT STRUCK
While 24 players in the elite, winners-only field of 30 were able to tee off on Friday before the first-round scores were wiped out, not a single shot was struck on Saturday.
"If the course wasn't so exposed, it wouldn't be a problem but you have a lot of greens exposed to 40 mile-an-hour wind gusts," said FedExCup champion Brandt Snedeker.
"It's tough to make that call. They (officials) did the right thing. We had to try to play today if we wanted to try to get 72 holes in. Unfortunately a short day, but hopefully we'll get out tomorrow and get some golf."
Fellow American Hunter Mahan, a double winner on the PGA Tour last year, agreed that conditions had been unplayable.
"With these gusts, the ball is basically just moving on its own," he said. "That doesn't make for good golf and good scores or fun for anybody to be out there right now.
"We all are trying to figure out what to do and what's the best plan for us to get ready for the next two days or three days."
U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson had been the early leader in Friday's aborted round, moving to three under par after just seven holes before the players were summoned off the course.
Swede Jonas Blixt was at one under after five holes, a stroke in front of compatriot Carl Pettersson (after one hole) and Americans Kyle Stanley (four), Ryan Moore (three), Johnson Wagner (two) and Scott Piercy (one).
Veteran American Steve Stricker, who won last year's Hyundai Tournament of Champions by three shots to clinch his 12th PGA Tour title, was among the six players who did not tee off on Friday.
Weather permitting, play will begin at 7:10 a.m. local (1730 GMT) on Sunday with a two-tee start.

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