t both sides had long planned to finalize a new deal before the start of free agency on Friday.?Spoelstra, 45, served as a Heat assistant from

NORTON, Mass. Bill Masterton Jersey . -- Just because Saturday was the official start to the college football season, its only natural that we compare Deutsche Bank Championship 36-hole leader Kevin Chappell to one of the teams well see this year.He might be the team from the non-power conference threatening to win a title.Or he might be the team on the verge of peaking next season.Or he might be the team that keeps coming close but cant pull off the victory.Or maybe its none of these. Maybe weve just caught a little case of football fever over here.Analogies aside, Chappell leads at TPC Boston after opening rounds of 67-64, as he chases a first career win that has been so close yet so elusive to this point.So far this season, he owns three solo second-place finishes, netting him more than $3.5 million and a likely berth in the season-ending Tour Championship, which was a goal of his. If theres a non-football comparison to be made, its with Kevin Kisner, who had three runner-up results last season, then won for the first time in his fourth start of this season.Despite not winning yet, Chappell insisted he still views his campaign with a positive outlook.Its hard to be frustrated when youre having the best year of your career, he said. Thats really how I try to look at it. Last year when I stood here, I was trying to get to the next event, and this year I stand here and it sounds like Im pretty much a lock to get to the last event at East Lake.You cant be disappointed with that. I would love to have won and won multiple times, but Ive learned from those experiences, and my team and I keep addressing the weaknesses that come up from those situations. You dont know if youre improving until you get in the situation and see how you hold up, so I look forward to that.Hes going to have an opportunity to see that improvement over the final 36 holes, with some heavyweight competition in close pursuit.Jimmy Walker, the recent PGA Championship winner, is just 1 stroke back. So is Paul Casey, the former top-10 player and multiple Ryder Cup team member. Among those not far behind them is Dustin Johnson, who might be enjoying the best season of anyone to date, and Justin Rose, who won Olympic gold just three weeks ago.As for what Chappell has learned from those previous close calls, he pointed to a specific intangible component to his performance.Just how patient you need to be and really the value of a shot, he explained. Use The Players [Championship], for example. I was over par for the tournament for 26 holes and was able to fight back and finish solo second. Solo second pays out like a win, which is huge, but I could have easily packed it in and took it as a missed cut and all of a sudden I net $1 million on the week. It just goes to show that youre never out of it. Im never out of it, and I need to be myself and just ride out the process.That learning curve will be on display during the final two rounds.Theres plenty on the line for Chappell, who could put himself in excellent position for the $10 million FedEx Cup first prize, and perhaps even become a candidate for a Ryder Cup captains selection.Hes either like the team that keeps coming close without finishing or will peak next season, or -- and hes hoping its this one -- is ready to prove itself against those power conferences.Hey, it might be football season, but Chappell is showing hes not ready to close the door on this golf season just yet, either. Tyler Pitlick Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Cheap Adidas Stars Jerseys . They had already blown a double-digit lead, fans were hitting the exits, and a long seven-game road trip waited at the end. http://www.cheapstarsjerseys.com/?tag=ad...artsburg-jersey .J. Ellis hit two-run homers and the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 4-0 Saturday night. The Miami Heat are closing in on a contract extension with coach Erik Spoelstra, a source told ESPN, confirming a story first reported by The Vertical on Tuesday.?The Heat expect to work something out soon with Spoelstra, the source said.?Spoelstras current deal with the team ends after the 2016-17 season, but both sides had long planned to finalize a new deal before the start of free agency on Friday.?Spoelstra, 45, served as a Heat assistant from 1997 to 2008 before taking over for Pat Riley as head coach beginning in the 2008-09 season. With the Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, the?Spoelstra-coached Heat won NBA titles in 2012 and 13.?This past season, Miami finished 48-34, good for third place in the Eastern Conference. It lost to the Toronto Raptors in the East semifinals.?Spoelstra is aa career 399-241 in the regular season and 70-43 in the playoffs. Martin Hanzal Jersey. He is the longest-tenured coach in the Eastern Conference and is second to only San Antonios Gregg Popovich in the NBA.?News of movement on an extension for Spoelstra comes just days before the start of free agency. The Heat have nine free agents, including Wade, Hassan Whiteside and Luol Deng, set to hit the market Friday at 12:01 a.m. ET.?In addition to likely locking up a long-term commitment with the Heat, Spoelstra is also set to wed fiancee Nikki Sapp later this summer after announcing their engagement nearly a year ago.Information from ESPNs Ramona Shelburne and Michael Wallace?was used in this report. 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