PROFILES » LLWW (last five completed matches, most

NAPA, Calif. -- Scott Piercy keeps finding ways to succeed, even when hes not making a lot of putts.Piercy pitched in from 40 yards for eagle on the par-5 ninth hole Friday, helping him keep a two-shot cushion at the rain-delayed Safeway Open until it became too dark to continue.A steady rain that fell on Silverado for most of the bleak day halted the second round for 2 hours, 36 minutes as water began to pool on the tee boxes and the corners of the greens. The delay meant the second round can not be completed until Saturday morning.Bill Haas had a 2-under 70 in the morning and finished 36 holes in 8-under 136.Piercy, who opened with a course-record 62, made only one of his four birdie chances until his eagle at No. 9, and he followed with a 10-foot birdie on the next hole to reach 14-under par.He missed a 5-foot birdie on the 12th hole, his last of the day.Johnson Wagner was at 12 under and had a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-3 15th hole when he decided to wait until morning. Paul Casey, who opened with a 64, recovered from two bogeys late on his front nine with three birdies over his next four holes. He was 11 under through 12 holes, ending his day with a 35-foot birdie putt.In my mind, I wanted to shoot 3 under on the front, Piercy said. And luckily, I was able to do that.Piercy converted only one of four reasonable birdie chances, making a 7-foot putt on the par-5 fifth hole. The next par 5 was into the wind, although he was mildly surprised that a 3-wood came up so short of the green in the first cut.I had a good angle, though, kind of shooting straight up the green, he said. When you make it from 40 yards, its luck. I hit a good shot. I landed it pretty much where I wanted to and it reacted good. Whenever it goes in, thats a bonus.No one from the afternoon starters finished the second round, which was to resume at 7:45 a.m. PT. The third round was to be played in threesomes off both tees, although more rain was in the forecast for the weekend.Haas was hopeful of at least staying close to the leaders. That depended on Piercy, Wagner and Casey, and perhaps a few others.Haas was one of the replacements for Tiger Woods, in this case taking the spot that had been set aside for Woods in the early-round groups. Haas doesnt know why he was chosen. He just considered it a treat to be able to watch the exploits of Phil Mickelson and the rhythmic swing of Emiliano Grillo.And they were able to watch Haas post the lowest score from the group.Haas made it through the tough conditions brought on by rain Friday morning and climbed into the mix going into the weekend of the PGA Tour season opener at Silverado.Haas was at 8-under 136, the low score among those who finished 36 holes. Mickelson had another 69 and was at 6-under 138. Grillo played bogey free after the delay for a 70 and was at 5-under 139.Woods had planned to play at Silverado and even entered the tournament Friday. The PGA Tour decided to arrange the groups so that Woods played with Mickelson and Grillo. Woods, however, withdrew Monday, saying his game was vulnerable and not where it needed to be.Haas took that spot in the group, and all three have put on a good show.Grillo had a 35-foot birdie putt that he left 10 feet short on the 11th hole, his second of the round, when the rain was at its worse. He made it through the back nine without any more mistakes and then ran off three straight birdies on the front nine.Mickelson returned from the rain delay in much worse shape. The driver slipped out of his hands on his first shot at the par-4 13th and led to a snap-hook out of bounds. He managed to make a 10-foot putt to escape with bogey.He made another bogey on the par-3 seventh when he pushed his tee shot left of the green, left of the gallery and next to a beer concession. From rain-soaked pine bark, he hit a flop to 12 feet and narrowly missed the putt. There were plenty of good shots, too, however, and Mickelson had control of his irons, which was key.The greens were so soft from rain that it was critical not to spin the ball back too much around the hole.To be able to get the distance control right, the trajectory, the spin right on spongy greens and give myself as many birdies as I hit, I think this is some of the best iron play that Ive had, Mickelson said. And then I hit a few wild ones, too, so I guess its kind of my normal game. Mario Mandzukic Jersey . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. Juan Cuadrado Juventus Jersey . Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off. http://www.juventusfcpro.com/Kids-Mattia-Perin-Jersey/ . NBA officials ruled the court unplayable in the Bucks final exhibition game on Oct. 25 because players were slipping, and the game was cancelled midway through the first period. Alex Sandro Juventus Jersey .ca. Hey Kerry, big fan of yours, just finished reading your book. I think that we all saw the Canucks/Flames line brawl just after puck drop. It was obvious that something was about to happen, even to the referees because the fourth lines were on to start. Blank Juventus Jersey . -- Ryan Getzlaf grabbed the three pucks wrapped in tape and held them up to his chest in the Anaheim Ducks dressing room for a celebration nine seasons in the making. Match facts October 13-17 2016Start time 1530 local (11:30 GMT)Big picture Pakistan are no longer the No. 1 Test team, having lost the top ranking to India, but they still retain the sense of being champions. They are set to play their 400th Test match, a landmark game in more than one way since it will be played with a pink ball, under lights, at the Dubai International Stadium. It will be only the second ever day-night Test, following the Australia-New Zealand match in Adelaide last year.First-class matches have been played under lights in both Pakistan and West Indies, but the experience is still a new one for most of the players from both sides. The visibility of the ball post-dusk has been a talking point, particularly with the pink ball sporting a black seam, but there is more excitement than anxiety among the players in the lead-up to the Test.The UAE has previous experience of staging pink-ball cricket, having hosted the English first-class season-opener between MCC and the champion county under lights multiple times since 2010. Those matches, however, were all played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Dubai is hosting its first pink-ball match, and it will be interesting to see if the stadium, which has a capacity of 25,000, can draw sizeable crowds for the Test match.Pakistan sit comfortably ahead of West Indies in the rankings table and are playing in familiar conditions, but they will guard against complacency. They will be without their best batsman, Younis Khan, who is resting after recovering from dengue fever, and are likely to feature two debutants as well as a new-look combination with five specialist batsmen and an allrounder slotting into a five-man bowling attack.West Indies lost their most recent Test series 2-0, at home against India, and the margin could have been worse if not for rain. They havent begun this tour well either, having been whitewashed in both the ODI and T20 series, and it will not be a surprise if they suffer another 3-0 reverse in the Tests. But they have gained a bit of confidence from their two warm-up games, in which as many as six of their batsmen - Leon Johnson, Shai Hope (twice), Jermaine Blackwood, Shane Dowrich, Kraigg Brathwaite and Darren Bravo - made half-centuries, while their bowlers also got among the wickets. It remains to be seen, though, if the No. 8-ranked Test team can make any sort of dent in Pakistans proud record in the UAE.Form guide Pakistan: WLLWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)West Indies: DLDLDIn the spotlight Babar Azam announced himself with three back-to-back hundreds in the ODI series, and Younis Khans absence will allow him to showcase his talents at Test level. Pakistan have a strong batting group, and Babar will need to extend his ODI form into his Test debut to make it hard for the team management to leave him out when Younis returns.Darren Bravo struggled in the home Tests against India, but he will be encouraged by the fact that his overseas average (51.18) far exceeds his average at home (29.35). He comes into the series with a bit of form behind him, with an innings of 61 in the second ODI and a 91 for the West Indians in their tour game against the PCB Patrons XI in Sharjah. Legspinner Devendra Bishoo also immpressed in that match, picking up a five-wicket haul in the first innings, and will be relied on to do a lot of bowling if he plays.dddddddddddd.Team news Pakistans Test line-up has been fairly stable over the last few years, but they have often craved an allrounder to give them flexibility in different conditions. Mohammad Nawaz, who is likely to make his Test debut in Dubai, could be that sought-after player with his batting and left-arm spin. Babar Azam will come in for Younis Khan as he recuperates from his recent bout of dengue fever.Pakistan (possible): 1 Sami Aslam, 2 Azhar Ali, 3 Asad Shafiq, 4 Misbah ul Haq (capt), 5 Babar Azam, 6 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 7 Mohammad Nawaz, 8 Wahab Riaz, 9 Yasir Shah, 10 Mohammad Amir, 11 Sohail Khan.With half-centuries in both warm-up matches, Shai Hope has made a case for inclusion in West Indies middle order. Marlon Samuels, who has been in poor form in Test matches of late, didnt play either game, and it will be interesting to see if he retains his place at No. 4. With Roston Chase established as their first-choice spin-bowling allrounder, West Indies will choose between Devendra Bishoo and Jomel Warrican as the specialist spinner to partner him.West Indies (possible): 1 Kraigg Brathwaite, 2 Leon Johnson, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Shai Hope/Marlon Samuels, 5 Jermaine Blackwood, 6 Roston Chase, 7 Shane Dowrich (wk), 8 Jason Holder (capt), 9 Devendra Bishoo, 10 Miguel Cummins, 11 Shannon Gabriel.Pitch and conditions Temperatures in the UAE have come down and the weather is likely to be cooler than it was during the limited-overs matches. Dew could be a factor, though neither side has complained about it so far. It is understood that the ground staff have used anti-dew spray on the outfield to minimise its impact and reduce the likelihood of spinners experiencing difficulty gripping the ball in the evening.Stats and triviaPakistan are playing their 400th Test match. They played their first match in Delhi against India in 1952. In their 63 years and 11 months as a Test team, Pakistan have won 128 games, lost 113, and drawn 158.Yasir Shah is five wickets short of 100 in Test matches. He has played 16 Test matches so far, and will become the joint-second-quickest to the mark if he gets there in Dubai.West Indies have won four Tests and lost 25 while playing away from home in the last ten years. Three of their four wins have been against Bangladesh. The last time they won an away Test against an opposition other than Bangladesh was in December 2007, in Port Elizabeth against South Africa.Quotes I think there could be no better time than this to make his Test debut. He has played mature innings and has developed well. He has played well not only here but also in New Zealand and looks a good prospect.Misbah-ul-Haq on handing Babar Azam a Test debutWe obviously went down in our last series, but it is a fresh series here and we had a pretty good lead up to this Test series. We have been here quite a while and most of the guys had a good camp in the Caribbean.Jason Holder doesnt think his teams poor showing at home against India will have a bearing on this series ' ' '