The Chicago Bulls are still trying to figure out how good they can be amid a whole lot of positive early season signs. Theyll receive an awfully good barometer reading when they see the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.The Bulls, riding a four-game winning streak, will play the third of six consecutive games on the road during their annual circus trip. Theyll venture into the home of the NBAs best team this season, and one of the best early season clubs ever to take the floor.The Clippers (11-2) extended the best start in franchise history with a 121-115 road victory at the Sacramento Kings on Friday night. They took control early, led by 20 points early in the fourth quarter and held off a furious Sacramento rally.But for a team outscoring opponents by an average of 14.2 points per game this season, among the best 10 teams in NBA history through 13 contests, it was not a result that made them happy.No question, guard Chris Paul said. Its nice to look at film of a game and see what you did wrong and still be able to talk about a win. But we expect to be better that that.The Bulls (8-4) have been better than anticipated during the seasons first month, but whether its a springboard to better things remains to be seen.The early results have been encouraging. Chicago has won its past four by an average of 14 points per game, leads the NBA in rebounding and is sixth in preventing opponents from scoring.In doing so, theyve taken some heat off second-year coach Fred Hoiberg, who survived a tumultuous debut campaign in 2015-16 that ended with only 42 victories and Chicago watching the playoffs.Theres great accountability in the locker room with these guys, Hoiberg told the Chicago Sun-Times before the teams 85-77 victory over at Utah on Thursday. It starts with our veterans. ... Ive been so impressed with the way our veterans have handled things and hopefully we can keep moving in the right direction.Sixth-year guard Jimmy Butler leads the Bulls in scoring at 24.2 points per game. Free-agent acquisitions Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo have added 17.3 points and 6.5 assists per game, respectively. Rondo is questionable to play because a sprained left ankle; second-year guard Jerian Grant has started the past two games in his place.Wades presence also has healed a clubhouse that was fractured a season ago but received a facelift after the the departures of guard Derrick Rose and center Joakim Noah.I wouldnt have come here if I didnt think I could help this organization and help Jimmy, Wade told the Chicago Sun-Times. This organization to me is important. Its my childhoods favorite organization. I knew I could help from what Ive learned in this league.Chicago makes most of its hay on the boards. Theyve outrebounded opponents by an average of 49-31 this season, including 52-42 in their eight victories.Against the Clippers, theyll face a team that ranks fifth in scoring at 109.6 per game and is second in rebounds at 53.2.Clippers guard J.J. Redick will be seeking to extend his consecutive-games streak with at least one 3-pointer to 70, the longest active run in the NBA. Cheap Nike Air Max 720 Sale . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. Air Max 720 Free Shipping . -- Stanfords Kevin Danser knelt on one knee and hardly moved on the sideline as Michigan State celebrated its Rose Bowl victory and his Cardinal teammates made their way to the locker room. http://www.cheapairmax720.us/ . White came in fourth place in the event. He was the two-time defending gold medallist. The gold medal went to Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov. Cheap Nike Air Max 720 . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. Wholesale Air Max 720 China . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. ARDMORE, Pa. -- For all those runner-up finishes, with so much heartache chasing the major he covets, Phil Mickelson has never had a better chance to win the U.S. Open. Its the first time he has ever had the outright lead going into the final round. Of the nine players within five shots, only one has the experience of winning a major. And Tiger Woods went from contender to middle-of-the-pack by matching his worst U.S. Open score as a pro. Despite a bogey on the final hole at Merion -- the 18th was so tough it didnt yield a single birdie in the third round -- Mickelson was the sole survivor to par Saturday with an even-par 70 that gave him a one-shot lead over Hunter Mahan, Steve Stricker and former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel. Mickelson celebrates his 43rd birthday Sunday -- on Fathers Day, no less. He left Merion on Monday and didnt return until three hours before his tee time on Thursday so he could attend the eighth-grade graduation of his oldest daughter. "Its got the makings to be something special," Mickelson said. "But I still have to go out and perform, and play some of my best golf." He has been good enough to play 54 holes in 1-under 209. And he was close to perfection when he stood on the par-3 17th hole with a 4-iron in his hand, 253 yards away from the orange wicker basket attached to the pin, the signature look at Merion. He was one shot behind Luke Donald until a pure swing and an 8-foot birdie putt gave him the lead. "I just stood and admired it," Mickelson said. "It was one of the best shots Ive ever hit. I mean, it just was right down the centre of the green and I was hoping it would kind of get the right bounces. It left me a beautiful uphill putt that I could be aggressive with and I made it. That was fun to do that because thats just not a hole you expect to get one back." Four others players who had been under par late in the round couldnt hang on. Donald twice made poor swings with a 2-iron, and it cost him three shots. Mahan, Schwartzel and Justin Rose all finished bogey-bogey. There was trouble everywhere at Merion, and it didnt take much to find it. One swing cost Ian Poulter, who drove out-of-bounds on the 15th. One decision cost Nicolas Colsaerts, who tried to hit a shot under a tree on the 18th and made triple bogey. That left Mickelson alone at the top for only the second time in a major -- he won the 2006 Masters with the lead. The U.S. Open, however, has been nothing but trouble for Lefty. "I dont think I feel any more pressure than anybody else who wants to win ... the U.S. Open," Mickelson said. "This is a tournament for years Ive had opportunities, Ive come close to, and it would mean a lot tomorrow if I could play some of my best golf -- certainly if I can play the way I have been." Saturday was more about weeding out the pretenders for this U.S. Open -- and one of them turned out to be Woods. He started out just four shots out of the lead, and made a bending, 12-foot birdie putt on the opening hole. It never got any better for the worlds No. 1 player. He made seven bogeys the rest of the way and didnt add another birdie. It was the fourth time he shot 76 in the U.S. Open, but never when he started out so close to the lead. Now, hes 10 shots behind. "It certainly is frustrating," said Woods, who has been stuck on 14 majors since winning the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. "Im playing well enough to do it, and unfortunately just havent gotten it done." David Hearn (73) of Brantford, Ont., is at 10 over, while Mike Weir (75) of Brights Grove, Ont., is 13 over. The final hour might have been a sneak preview for Sunday. At one point, there were five players under par, and suddenly there was only Mickelson. Donald made double bogey on the 18th hole from the middle of the fairway, trying to swing too hard on a 2-iron to get up the hill and beyonnd the false front of the green.dddddddddddd He wound up in ankle-deep rough, so gnarly that his third shot squirted across the green and into more thick grass. "I should have done better," Donald said. "It was disappointing, but Ill take the positives out of today -- a really solid 16 holes of golf, and Im only two back." Mahan let his spectacular back nine filled with four birdies go to waste with a bogey-bogey finish for a 69. He will be in the final group for the first time in a major with Mickelson, whom he considers a close friend. "Its going to be a very, very exciting finish," Mahan said, "because I dont think any lead is safe." Stricker made a 10-foot par putt on the 18th hole to complete a 70 and perhaps the steadiest round of the day. His only mistake in a round that lasted 5 1/2 hours under sunshine was a tee shot into the water on the par-3 ninth for a double bogey. At 46, Stricker can become the oldest U.S. Open champion. "Ive got to play smart golf ... not make any mistakes," he said. "I think thats the biggest thing. And its a course where its tough to come back." Billy Horschel, tied with Mickelson at the start of the third round, kept his emotions in check and shot 72. He was two shots behind, along with Donald and Rose The third round featured so much movement, and so many wild swings, that seven players had a share of the lead at some point. Even though USGA executive director Mike Davis said the course was set up to allow for good scores, this was more about hanging on for dear life. There was no faking it Saturday afternoon. Thirty players were separated by only five shots at the start of the third round. By the end of the day, there were just 10 players separated by five shots, including amateur Michael Kim. He was tied for third until losing four shots on the last three holes. For all the talk about Merion being just a short course, the final two holes were beastly -- 253 yards for a par 3 surrounded by deep bunkers and framed by the Scottish broom grass, and then a 530-yard closing hole up the hill, deep rough on both sides with bogeys or worse waiting for a single missed shot. Stricker, remarkably, played bogey-free on the back nine. Horschel, striving for perfection at a championship that doesnt allow for it, dropped only one shot. "Seventeen and 18, youve got to buckle up and hit good shots," Horschel said. "So I think tomorrow, with the pressure being on, those holes will stick out even more." Mickelson chose not to carry a driver, and he had to be flawless again on the long closing hole. He swung the 3-wood with confidence throughout the back nine and drilled another. With some 250 yards left, another fairway metal took him just over the green. His chip came out some 10 feet short and he missed the par putt to end a streak of 12 holes without a bogey. But he still had the lead. It was the first time only one player remained under par through 54 holes at the U.S. Open since 2007 at Oakmont, when there was none. Mickelson was tied for the 54-hole lead at Winged Foot in 2006, where he lost a one-shot lead on the final hole by making double bogey. Of his five runner-up finishes, that one stung the most. But hes back for another try to win his national championship. The challenge has never been more severe -- not from any player, but from Merion. Mickelson has one piece of history working against him. In the four previous U.S. Opens at this classic course, no one with the lead going into the final round has ever gone on to win. "I love being in the thick of it," Mickelson said. "Ive had opportunities in years past, and it has been so fun, even though its been heart-breaking to come so close a number of times and let it slide. 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