Focus hasnt always been Bubba Watsons forte, but he showed up this week in Cromwell, Conn., for more than a ceremonial defense of his Travelers Championship title.The worlds sixth-ranked golfer is the highest-ranked player in the field this week, and he will hop on a plane to Rio de Janeiro after his final round to represent the United States in the Olympics. But if Watson wants a breather before the grueling FedExCup playoffs that begin Aug. 25 and the Ryder Cup Sept. 30-Oct. 2, he must focus on the task at hand this week.Watson enters the Travelers ranked ninth in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings, one spot outside of the eight automatic spots for captain Davis Love IIIs team. He acknowledged that he might add the Wyndham Championship on Aug. 18-21 to his schedule if he doesnt play well this week.Watson doesnt typically play the final tournament before the playoffs, but with the John Deere Classic taking place during the Olympics, the Travelers presents Watson with his best opportunity to improve his Ryder Cup position and guarantee himself some time off.My thoughts are, play good here, Watson said. I dont want to go off a (captains) pick. Ill take a pick all day long, but its better to set yourself on that team than to rely on a pick.Watson shot four rounds in the 60s and beat Englands Paul Casey in a playoff to win the Travelers Championship for the second time last year, earning a $1.152 million paycheck and 500 FedExCup points. He overpowered the TPC River Highlands course en route to a 16-under 264 during regulation, but Watson will tackle a track that has undergone some significant changes since last summer.Established in 1928, the TPC River Highlands has been one of the most popular stops on the PGA Tour since 1984. It gives up a lot of birdies and the scoring is traditionally low, but this years tournament features new sight lines around the closing stretch. That begins with the par-4 15th, which will play just under 300 yards from almost every hole location. The tee box was raised, five bunkers were removed, including three to open the view of the water back-left of the green, and the putting surface was reshaped to open locations closer to the water.What they did on 15 was fairly subtle, said Peter Malnati, who has a win and three top-10s this season. But its still going to make a big difference.The 16th and 17th holes also underwent subtle changes to open up sight lines, and around 60 bunkers were removed or moved into more strategic places to tighten up the course. The intention was to force players to be more strategic off the tee.(The 15th is) a neat hole, its a great amphitheater area there, too, with 15, 16 and 17 and that whole vicinity, said 2006 Travelers champion and Fairfield, Conn. native J.J. Henry. In my opinion, in growing up here and going here as a kid and stuff, its probably one of the best spots, if you will, to watch golf on the PGA Tour kind of around that three-hole stretch.Also in the field this week for the $6.6 million purse ($1.188 million winners share) are two of Watsons U.S. Olympic teammates, Patrick Reed and Matt Kuchar.Reed has a pair of runner-up finishes this week, but missed the cut at the Travelers last year. Kuchar did not play the event in 2015. Reed and Kuchar also have Ryder Cup positioning on their minds as ironically, along with Fowler the four Olympic teammates sit 9-12 in the U.S. team rankings.Reed received his Olympic team gear and golf bag this week, and debuted it during practice.Im obviously very excited to play for the Olympics, if you couldnt tell, I mean Im in red, white and blue today, and Im actually debuting the Olympics bag today, Reed said Tuesday. I thought it would be great for the fans to see. Its the only time theyll actually be able to see it is on TV at the Olympics, so I was proud to be able to bring it out and wear the colors proud this week.Denmarks Soren Kjeldsen, Germanys Alex Cejka and Irelands Padraig Harrington are the other three Olympians in field this week.So while the rest of the world prepares for the opening to the Rio Games on Friday, there is a lot on the line for many of the marquee names in the field this week. Watson figures to be very high on Love IIIs captains pick even if he doesnt play well this week or overtake Brandt Snedeker for the eighth automatic spot, but he has another way to put a feather on his Ryder Cup resume.I figure a gold medal would help, Watson said with a smile. Cheap Jordan 8 Shoes Free Shipping .Y. -- Sabres forward Drew Stafford has witnessed plenty of turmoil during his eight seasons in Buffalo. Wholesale Jordan 8 .Y. -- Jayna Hefford scored the winning goal Friday as Canada survived a scare with a 4-3 win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hockey tournament. http://www.cheapairjordan8.com/ . The move comes after the Canadiens were approached by the Buffalo Sabres for permission to speak to Dudley - a former Sabres player and head coach. "The Sabres called for permission and I appreciate that, Im flattered, Dudley told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN. Cheap Jordan 8 . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. Cheap Jordan 8 Shoes . The 25-year-old Japanese star has officially been posted by his club team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles. LOS ANGELES -- After beating up on mostly lesser competition, things are about to get serious for No. 11 UCLA.The Bruins play at No. 1 Kentucky on Saturday before facing Michigan and Ohio State, a challenging start to December after they cruised past UC Riverside 98-56 to close out the first month of the season undefeated.UCLAs 8-0 start is its best since coach Steve Alfords first season in Westwood three years ago.Weve done a phenomenal job through eight games of sharing the ball and helping each other score, Alford said.Isaac Hamilton scored 27 points, tying his career-high with seven 3-pointers, and freshman T.J. Leaf added 18 points and 10 rebounds for UCLA.Aaron Holiday had 18 points and Thomas Welsh had 12 points and 12 rebounds. Lonzo Ball, the nations assist leader, set a freshman game assist record with 13 for the Bruins, who were coming off winning the title at last weeks Wooden Legacy. They hit nine of their 13 3-point attempts in the second half.Three games in four days, finals are starting and Kentucky looming on the weekend, this isnt an easy game no matter who were playing, Alford said. I liked our guys mindset. Thats all we talked about the last 48 hours. Once again, this team did a really great job of coming out and having a great mindset.Secean Johnson scored 17 points despite foul trouble and Chance Murray added 13 points for the Highlanders (1-4). Freshman Dikymbe Martin was held to five points after scoring 15 against Utah last week.They can score so easy, they put so much pressure on your offense, Highlanders coach Dennis Cutts said. You just cant match their offensive potency.Five of UCLAs first six baskets in the second half were 3-pointers and Hamilton hit four of them, extending the Bruins lead to 59-35.Hamiltons sixth 3-pointer launched them on a 13-0 run that included another 3 from him and made it 69-35.When the ball moves like that, youre bound to hit shots like that, he said.Ball set up his teammates with several nifty passes. He and Leaf teamed up three times in the second half. Ball dunked off Leafs alley-oop pass and on the Bruins next possession he set Leaf up for a dunk. Ball fed Leaf for another dunk later in the half that made it 85-42.Guys were hitting shots and I was getting them the ball, Ball said. Everything was clicking.The Bruins put the game away in the first half when they shot 58 percent and opened with a 23-9 run.The Highlanders defended better and ouutscored the Bruins 16-8 to close to 31-25.dddddddddddd.UCLA ran off 11 unanswered points, including Balls first points of the game on consecutive baskets, and led 42-27 at halftime.BIG PICTUREUC Riverside: The Highlanders have just one win in their first five games, but they have played some good competition. They lost road games to Portland (16 points), UNLV (12 points) and Utah (18 points) before losing to the Bruins. Their lone win came against Fresno Pacific. Last year, they won 14 games, second-most in the Division I history of the program under fourth-year coach Cutts, who has things on the upswing.UCLA: The Bruins have beat up some easy competition on their way to an undefeated start. That all changes Saturday when they face No. 1 Kentucky on the road. The game will be a barometer of where they stand against the nations best.POLL IMPLICATIONSUnless the Bruins can duplicate their upset of top-ranked Kentucky a year ago, they figure to drop a spot or two in the rankings with a loss at Rupp Arena on Saturday.BALL ROLLINGBall broke Pooh Richardsons freshman game assist record of 12, set against Washington State on Jan. 11, 1986. The school record of 16 was set by Earl Watson. For the first time in eight games, Ball didnt score in double figures. He took just three shots.I just take what the game gives me, he said.TIP-INSUC Riverside: The Highlanders fell to 0-5 all-time against the Bruins. ... Martin was averaging a team-best 12.5 points and came in leading the team in several other categories.UCLA: The Bruins ranking matches their best since Feb. 9, 2009. ... They are one of two undefeated Pac-12 teams. ... G Prince Ali, who had right knee surgery in July, could return by late December. ... F Alex Olesinski has missed eight games so far with a stress reaction in his left foot.UP NEXTUC Riverside: Visits Santa Clara on Dec. 13, capping a stretch of three straight road games.UCLA: Plays Kentucky on Saturday for the third consecutive season. The Wildcats have been the nations top-ranked team in each of the meetings. The Bruins upset them 87-77 last year at Pauley Pavilion for the schools first win over a No. 1 team since 2003. In 2014, the Wildcats won in Chicago by 39 points.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 . ' ' '