MAYNOOTH, Ireland -- Saying hes "feeling a bit lost" in a difficult year, Rory McIlroy shot a 2-over 74 on Thursday in the Irish Open to fall eight strokes behind first-round leader Oscar Floren. The second-ranked McIlroy, from Northern Ireland, had four bogeys and two birdies in wet and overcast conditions at Carton House on the outskirts of Dublin. McIlroy hit only five of 14 fairways and took 34 putts. "At the moment, no aspects of my game are strong and Im just feeling a bit lost at the moment," he said. "It feels good on the range and I can hit all the shots, but when I get out on the course it really does not seem to be there. "Off the tee, I am missing one right and then missing one left and its just not going where I want it. It gets you in two minds every time you are playing a tee shot. The game is just not coming easy to me at the moment and while I was struggling at this point last year, I was able to turn the corner in the middle of the summer and have a great end to my season. I dont know whether its a matter of trying to play my way out of it or just keep grinding away on the range or whatever." Floren, from Sweden, had a 6-under 66. He drove the green on the par-4 13th and holed a 20-foot eagle putt. "I just came out and hit everything really, really pure," Floren said. American Peter Uihlein was a stroke back along with Dutchman Joost Luiten, , Frances Jean-Baptiste Gonnet, Northern Irelands Michael Hoey and Irelands Shane Lowry. Uihlein, the Madeira Islands Open winner last month, is making his 10th European Tour start of the year. The former Oklahoma State star won the 2010 U.S. Amateur. Lowry, the 2009 winner at County Louth as an amateur, had six birdies and a bogey played alongside McIlroy. "I was just chomping at the bit to get out there this morning and I was just trying to play me way into the tournament nicely so Im really pleased with a 67," he said. Hoey said wife Barbara had their first child induced last week so he could compete in the event. "Its great being a father and already its added a new perspective to my life," said Hoey, a four-time European Tour winner. Jeremy Lamb Jersey . Bradwell was scheduled to become a free agent Tuesday. Born and raised in Toronto, Bradwell is entering his sixth CFL season, with all six played for his hometown Argonauts. Marcus Paige Jersey . Pettersen, winner of last years Evian Championships, had nine birdies and three bogeys, holding off a series of challengers led by Marion Ricordeau of France. The second-ranked Norwegian made her season debut after missing the LPGA Tours opening event last month in the Bahamas because of a shoulder injury. http://www.cheaphornetsjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-willy-hernangomez-jersey . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. Mangok Mathiang Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Nicolas Batum Jersey . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. SAN DIEGO -- The teams best offensive linemen dropped his helmet to the floor during halftime Saturday evening, threw down his shoulder pads and let his pants slide to the floor, whatever it took for his body to breathe.Nearby, a group of linebackers and their position coach gathered around a trainers table, sharing insights about the opposing tight end, but few ideas on how to stop him.The head coach then brought his players together in the middle of the room, and they sunk to one knee. Down by 28 points, he urged them to keep playing hard and win the second half. Just as he stepped back to adjourn the meeting, the players emphatically pounded their chests before starting the long walk back to the field.The scene was typical of hundreds of halftime interactions and pep talks that took place last weekend on college campuses across America, only this one had a unique international layer.The University de las Americas Puebla football team crossed the border to take on the University of San Diego Toreros in an exhibition game Saturday evening -- 16 days before the Oakland Raiders and Houston Texans bring the NFL to Mexico City for the first Monday Night Football game outside the U.S.The Aztecas eventually lost to San Diego 49-25 putting a blemish on their undefeated season back home. Coaches and players from both sides learned a lot about the other, and all agreed they benefited from the experience, even if it just means learning from mistakes.Its a good way to measure the level we have over there, and the level over here, said UDLAP wide receiver Robin Israel Gonzalez Carmona, who delivered the play of the night when he scored on a 99-yard touchdown reception in the games closing minutes.There were plenty of other highlights inside 6,000-seat Torero Stadium, where Jim Harbaugh began his head coaching career and turned the program around from 2004 to 2006 before moving on to Stanford, the San Francisco 49ers and now Michigan.On the opening series of the game, San Diego faced a third down near midfield when UDLAP safety Osvaldo Zumalacarregui Taboada blitzed into the backfield and delivered a jaw-rattling sack on quarterback Anthony Lawrence.Suddenly, the Toreros were tightening their chinstraps.They came out and hit, Lawrence said. They were really physical.Thanks to a leaping touchdown catch by Jean Claude Madin Cerezo, the Aztecas managed to keep the score tied 7-7 heading into the second quarter. After a rough stretch of 28 unanswered points, the Aztecas responded to the pleas of head coach Eric Fisher at halftime and outscored the Toreros 10-0 in the third quarter. UDLAP got a safety on an errant snap by the San Diego punt team, and later scored on a sliding touchdown grab by Jose Humberto Noriega Montiel, who finished with 12 catches for 96 yards.Through it all, the team from Mexico never slowed down. Thats what San Diego head coach Dale Lindsey said hell remember most about UDLAP, a private university located in Cholula, Puebla, about 80 miles east of Mexico City.They were much better than our players thought tthey were going to be, said Lindsey, whose team is 7-1 this season in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision.dddddddddddd They really fought. I really had great admiration for them. They never quit.The Aztecas never stopped having fun, either, and their fans never stopped cheering. After his 99-yard touchdown, Gonzalez Carmona looked up from the water cooler, blew kisses to the crowd and took a bow to acknowledge their glee.Gonzalez Carmona said crossing the border to play a U.S. college team is the perfect barometer for Mexican players and exposes weaknesses that usually dont arise against weaker opponents at home. UDLAP is 9-0 this season against teams in its conference, and most of the wins have been one-sided. He added that the differences between the Aztecas and the Toreros werent those of size, speed or athletic ability, but rather discipline and detail.They didnt make mistakes and we did, he said.Indeed, that was the most frustrating part of the game for Fisher, a Kansas City, Missouri, native who began coaching overseas with the Barcelona Dragons of NFL Europe in 2003. He arrived in Mexico City the following year as the athletic director and coach of the American School Foundation, a K-12 private school, and has been in his current position at UDLAP since 2009, amassing a 69-16 record.We havent been hit in the mouth like that for a while, Fisher said after Saturdays game.Like most college coaches, Fisher wants players who are physically strong and mentally tough and who can remember playbooks and recognize opposing defenses. If he cant find them in Mexico, he knows where to find them north of the border.Two of his players, Milton Earls and Jordan Brooks, are from the San Diego suburb of Chula Vista.The idea of playing college football in Mexico never occurred to Earls and Brooks as recently as a couple of years ago.Neither player was heavily recruited out of high school, so they planned to continue playing at the junior-college level. Shortly after their senior seasons, however, they were invited to participate in an all-star game between San Diego-area seniors and the under-19 national team from Mexico.UDLAP had recruiters at the game. Afterward, they invited Earls and Brooks on a recruiting trip.We were kind of iffy about it at first, because it was playing football in another country, but when we went out there to visit, we had a blast, Earls said. They offered us full-ride scholarships the same day we went out.Outside of the usual adjustments college athletes face as freshmen, the biggest challenges for Earls and Jordan have been the language barrier and elevation. UDLAPs home stadium sits at 7,000 feet, about 1,600 feet higher than the University of Colorados. The Aztecas played near sea level Saturday night, but they climbed way up in competition.The Aztecas acquitted themselves well against stout competition, and chances are they will be even more prepared next time. 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