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AKRON, Ohio -- There are a few different philosophies to playing a tournament like the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, which has a 61-player field this week. Wait, make that a 60-player field. No, sorry. Down to 59 by the end of Thursday. Golfs magic number, you know.But I digress. Whatever the exact total, there remain a few truths that are self-evident at this type of event: Every competitor will play four rounds and every competitor will cash a nice paycheck.The extent of how low those rounds are and how large those paychecks are depends on a players philosophy, though not each viewpoint works the same for all players.Theres the idea that a guy can treat this week as a slight departure from the usual grind, maybe working on his game a little less as he steels himself for the second half of the year.You can come out here and kind of -- I wont say not care, but not have to worry about making the Friday cut, explained William McGirt. You know, the big thing is just going out and playing golf and having fun, do your thing. But it does give you a chance to kind of work on some stuff, knowing that theres no cut that you have to worry about making.This strategy might not sound conducive to success, but it should be noted that McGirt employed this method to the tune of an opening-round 6-under 64, good for an early three-stroke lead.Then theres the other strategy.The one that Jason Day is using this week.Some guys are happy to be in the field and stuff like that, but if you just give it that extra little bit, you can kind of pick up a cheap one, he said. Obviously, this is not cheap, its just like theres less people here, you have less people to try and beat, and if you can just really focus down and mentally prepare for that, I think you can definitely pick one up.Day hasnt won a tournament since way back at the Players Championship, three starts and seven whole weeks ago. That would be a mere blip for most mortal golfers, but for the worlds No. 1-ranked player with eight wins since the beginning of last year, it almost -- almost -- represents a bit of a (gulp) slump. All right, call it a lull. A slight lull.So rather than treat this tournament as a brief interlude between the games four major championships, Day has emboldened himself to make a serious run at the title. Its an idea personified by a first-round, 3-under 67 that left him in a share of second place behind only McGirt.Youre guaranteed four days, and you can come and relax and just get your money and walk off, but I dont want to do that, Day explained. These are kind of the weeks where I get to have some fun and go fish, and then obviously come in and not have to worry about making a cut or anything like that, even if you are playing bad. You can just focus on trying to win.That must be a trick only a No. 1 player could pull off, correlating not having to worry about making a cut into being able to focus more on trying to win, but Day appears to have perfected this mindset so far.Hes calling this week a pseudo-home game, having traveled the one-hour, 45-minute journey from Columbus with his family in their RV. And yes, hes been fishing this week, already hooking a largemouth bass to put him one up on caddie Colin Swatton.But none of that means hes taking this one easy.On weeks like this one -- and you can add the year-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions and erstwhile WGC-Cadillac Championship to this list, too, and maybe the FedEx playoff events BMW Championship and Tour Championship, though theres more at stake there -- these philosophies can take one of two routes.Neither is the secret formula for success, of course. A player can grind all week and still fall well short; he can take things a bit easier and still win the tournament.Each strategy is on display on the leaderboard at the WGC-Bridgestone, where fewer competitors and guaranteed money can always affect the eventual outcome.Just ask the guys at the top so far. Cheap Rockies Jerseys . Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games. Custom Colorado Rockies Jerseys . Darren Helm scored on Detroits sixth attempt in the shootout and then Jonas Gustavsson stopped Andrew Shaws shot, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. https://www.cheaprockiesjerseys.us/ . James, who turned 29 on Monday, injured his groin Friday during the Heats overtime loss at Sacramento. He sat out the following game, a 108-107 win Saturday in Portland, before coming back to help send the Nuggets to their seventh consecutive loss. Colorado Rockies Store . The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrators decision suspending him for the 2014 season and post-season. Rockies Jerseys 2019 . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. CANCUN, Mexico -- Jordin Canada made the plays down the stretch to lead UCLA to another win.Canada scored 27 points and to lead the ninth-ranked Bruins to a 75-73 victory over Toledo on Friday in the Cancun Challenge.With the game tied at 68, Canada hit consecutive baskets, including a spinning shot with 51 seconds left.I was trying to get a shot off, Canada said. I picked up my dribble so she was pressuring me. Luckily when I did the spin I was open for the shot.Trailing by 14 points at the half, Toledo (4-1) cut it to 74-73 with 32 seconds left on Mariella Santuccis 3-pointer. When Canada missed a shot with 3 seconds left, Monique Billings was there for the rebound and she was fouled. She hit the second of two free throws and the Rockets couldnt get a tying shot off.Billings finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Bruins (5-1).They are a great team. They gave us all they had, Canada said. We started out well, getting a lot of stops. Up at the half and they came back. ... We found a way to win which is the most important thing.Santucci and Janice Monakana scored 16 points each for Toledo.Im very proud of my teams effort, Toledo head coach Tricia Cullop said. They never gave up, and we gave ourselves a chance to extend the game at the end.ddddddddddddWe have nothing to hold our head down about. We played toe-to-toe with a very talented, nationally ranked team.Trailing by one midway through the first quarter, UCLA closed the opening period with a 14-5 run spurred by Kari Korvers two 3-pointers. The Rockets got within 24-19 before Canada scored the final 11 points for the Bruins before the half, including two 3-pointers, to give UCLA a 38-24 lead.We went up 16 and we werent tough enough to close it, UCLA coach Cori Close said. If were going to be a great team were going to have to learn to do that.BIG PICTURE:Toledo: The Rockets started the season with four consecutive wins for the first time since 1996-97. UT has started a season 3-0 on four occasions in school history.UCLA: The Bruins have a challenging schedule ahead with a game against Michigan in early December before visiting No. 3 South Carolina at the end of next month.BOMBS AWAY:Toledo was able to hang around hitting 12 of its 25 3-point attempts.UP NEXT:Toledo: The Rockets host Illinois Chicago on Thursday.UCLA: The Bruins have a week off before hosting Hawaii on Sunday, Dec. 4. ' ' '