includes small alligators, nesting owls, and a large rodent called a capybara that leaves tracks through the courses abundant bunkers.Players raved about the course during the Olympics.G

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 seconds remaining in regulation on Saturday night.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.Reggie Wayne Jersey . During the athletes parade, the 23-strong Ukrainian team was represented by a lone flagbearer in an apparent protest at the presence of Russian troops in Ukraines Crimean peninsula. Malik Hooker Womens Jersey . 4 Villanova with a 96-68 drubbing on Monday. Wragge hit 9-of-14 from behind the arc, matching Kyle Korvers school record for 3-pointers in a game set in 2003, as Creighton (16-3, 6-1 Big East broke a conference record with 21 treys in the rout. http://www.officialindianapoliscoltspro.com/Marshall-faulk-colts-jersey/ . After taking two big hits this week -- losing at home and dropping back-to-back games for the first time all season -- Indiana struck back by playing its most complete game of the year. Marshall Faulk Youth Jersey . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Quenton Nelson Youth Jersey . -- The goal posts lying flat on the field, Arizonas fans lingered on the field, congregating around the locker room entrance nearly 30 minutes after rushing out of the stands.RIO DE JANEIRO -- Rio de Janeiros Olympic golf course took three years to build as the project was slowed down by environmental lawsuits, Brazilian bureaucracy and stop-and-start funding by a billionaire real estate developer.Four months after golfs surprising popularity at the Olympics, an even larger test remains: What to do with an acclaimed course in a country where few play the game, and in a city that cant pay to maintain it.You know that its not going to be easy, Paulo Pacheco, head of the Brazilian Golf Confederation, told The Associated Press. Its challenging. Its not easy to do. Its very hard. I think its the only opportunity we have to improve golf in Brazil.Everything feels unfinished around the course, except the course itself, which threatens to become a white elephant.Billed as the first public championship-level course in the country, the layout is hidden behind several luxury apartment towers known as Riserva Golf, which wont be completed until 2018. Cinderblock walls and fencing obstruct the view from the street, and no signs mark the entrance to the course in the western Rio suburb of Barra da Tijuca.Once through the rutted parking lot and inside the clubhouse, theres no pro shop, few furnishings, no local club professional and no restaurant.And few players.Only four middle-age men were on the course one morning this week, though the early rain showers didnt help. Even in good weather, attendance has been sparse in a city of 6 million that has only 1,500 golfers.Brazil has about 20,000 players. compared to 25 million in the United States, and the game is played almost exclusively by the wealthy.Another problem: Who will pay to keep the course running? Out-going Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes says the city cant pay. He has said repeatedly he would not have pushed to build the course were in not for the Olympics.Its not a popular sport in Brazil, Paes said last year. But there are some things you need to do when you deliver the Olympics.Last week, a state court froze Paes assets as a public prosecutor investigates whether he improperly waived an environmental tax for the course builder. The builders assets were also frozen.The state of Rio de Janeiro has declared a financial calamity and is several months behind in paying teachers and public employees. And the country itself is in the deepest recession in decades, with unemployment at 12 percent.Pacheco, who has been managing the course, was vague in explaining how it will stay afloat. He said he would be leaving the job in a few weeks, and that negotiations were taking place with a new management company that could take over Jan. 1. But nothings been signed with just two weeks to go.Pacheco said employees of the present management company were being partially paid and were still working as both sides work out a pay settlement.ddddddddddddSome employees complained several weeks ago about not being paid.Neil Cleverly, the Briton who helped build the layout and had been managing maintenance, is no longer working at the course since his visa expired. Pacheco said it would be six months before the course was fully operating, and estimated the cost to maintain the layout at between $75,000-100,000 monthly.World golf officials are concerned.As has been the case since the very beginning of this project, getting an accurate picture of the current situation on the ground, and the best parties responsible for the short- and long-term success of the Olympic Golf Course, has been difficult, said Ty Votaw, vice president of the International Golf Federation.Pacheco acknowledged that local golf officials have been slow in getting organized. He said a new website and Rio tourist agencies would soon be promoting the course, which will charge $80 green fees after Jan. 1 for Brazilians and foreigners.The IGF is worried, he said. Its the legacy you have to give back to the Olympics.In a deal with the city, billionaire developer Pasquale Mauro spent about $20 million to build the course in exchange for permission to construct multi-million-dollar apartments on some of Rios most desirable real estate.Its not just any course. From a wetland area -- formerly part of a nature reserve -- American golf architect Gil Hanse carved out a links-style layout with undulating fairways that bump up against scrubland brimming with wildflowers.Local animal life includes small alligators, nesting owls, and a large rodent called a capybara that leaves tracks through the courses abundant bunkers.Players raved about the course during the Olympics.Gil did a good job taking nothing and turning it into a great golf course without having time to make any changes or adjustments, American Rickie Fowler said. Theres a lot of fun characteristics.Marcos Dias, one for four players alone on the course one day this week, said it could be a milestone in developing young Brazilian talent.There was no place to practice. Now I have everything to improve my game, Dias said. In the United States you have a real good scenario to develop your game. Its like here with soccer. Wherever you go here you find a soccer field. But for golf, its really rare to have a course like this to play.---AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson, and AP video journalist Renata Brito contributed to this report.---Stephen Wade on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephenWade . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wade ' ' '