ATLANTA -- Heres one argument against the notion that money is ruining golf: The PGA Tour is playing for $69 million over the final month, and all anyone seems to care about is an exhibition that doesnt pay a dime.Maybe it would be different if the Americans had won the Ryder Cup more than twice over the last 20 years.They have stopped at nothing this time in a desperate bid to get it right, even though the outcome can easily hinge on a 45-foot putt like the one Justin Leonard made in 1999 at Brookline and Justin Rose made in 2012 at Medinah.All the while, an important part of their season is being overshadowed.The FedEx Cup ends Sunday at East Lake, where the winner gets a $10 million bonus. A total of $35 million in bonus money is awarded -- even the players who didnt qualify for the playoffs received $32,000 last year -- after four tournaments that each offer $8.5 million in prize money.Lets be clear: Four tournaments that comprise the FedEx Cup playoffs dont compare to three days of the Ryder Cup, and its not even close. Not in history or passion, not in ticket sales or television ratings. No one this side of PGA Tour headquarters will argue that.The Ryder Cup might be second only to the Masters in terms of pure theater in golf.Still, the process of making the U.S. team is over the top. The Americans have asked for four weeks to get 12 players. Europe had its team in two days.The Ryder Cup has been as much a part of the conversation as the FedEx Cup.The Barclays was the final tournament to earn one of the eight automatic spots on the U.S. team, and the story out of Bethpage Black was as much about Patrick Reed playing his way onto team as it was winning for the first time in nearly 20 months. The Deutsche Bank Championship and BMW Championship might as well have been auditions for Davis Love III before he made three of his four captains picks.And before getting to East Lake for the FedEx Cup finale, Love invited potential picks such as Bubba Watson, Daniel Berger and Justin Thomas to play practice rounds with part of the U.S. team at Hazeltine over the weekend and into Monday.Thomas is No. 12 in the FedEx Cup, well in range of a prize that would pay more than his career earnings. Berger is No. 24 and has a longer road to the $10 million, though its worth noting Bill Haas won the FedEx Cup in 2011 from the No. 25 seed.Watson, the No. 7 player in the world, already is stung by not being chosen thus far. He must feel like every shot will determine whether he flies to Minnesota on Sunday night or has time to check on his new candy store in Pensacola, Florida.Jordan Spieth doesnt have this problem. He easily qualified for the team and is trying to become the first back-to-back winner of the FedEx Cup. He was at Hazeltine on Monday playing with whom he described as the three hopefuls -- Watson, Berger and Thomas.Spieth figures his best chance to play well at Hazeltine is to play well at East Lake. The matches dont start until Friday, anyway.Now that Im here, he said Tuesday at East Lake, Im only thinking about this.And those three hopefuls?I think its challenging. I think its tough, he said.Spieth and Thomas have been friends since they were 14. He said Thomas has told him hes been so consumed with the Ryder Cup that it has hurt his game. Thomas missed the cut at the TPC Boston and tied for 32nd in a 69-man field at Crooked Stick.They all know that if they come in here and if they can somehow block that out and focus on this tournament, it will help all of them, Spieth said.Tim Finchem, in his final year as the PGA Tour commissioner, managed to take it as a compliment that the PGA of America was taking so much attention away from what tour marketing officials once described as their Super Bowl.The way the Ryder Cup approaches this has really changed because of the FedEx Cup, he said Tuesday. It says that players are gearing their game to be at the top of their game during this period of time.Nine of the 30 players at the Tour Championship are assured of being in Hazeltine next week.Russell Knox of Scotland is part of the 21 who will not. He was left off the European Tour team despite two PGA Tour victories in the last year and a world ranking (No. 19) better than seven players for Europe. Once he was overlooked as a pick, Knox has thought about only one cup.Theres four or five U.S. guys this week still hoping to play well to make the Ryder Cup, Knox said. The position Im in, Ill take the $10 million. Cameron Erving Jersey . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Breeland Speaks Jersey . Arsenal failed to take full advantage of its main rivals stumbles on Saturday as substitute Gerard Deulofeu levelled with a hard shot from a tight angle in the 84th minute to give Everton a deserved point. Ahead of a crucial fortnight that will see them play against Napoli in the Champions League, Manchester City and Chelsea, Arsenal leads by five points ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea. http://www.prochiefsauthentic.com/Youth-Len-Dawson-Elite-Jersey/ . Reigning world champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland opened with a 12-2 rout of Winnipegs Jennifer Jones in a battle of teams bound for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Alex Okafor Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. Emmanuel Ogbah Jersey . Belfort (24-10) needed just 77 seconds to down Henderson in the headlining bout of Saturdays "UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson" event at Goiania Arena in Goiania, Brazil. The fight served as a rematch of the pairs 2006 meeting, which Henderson won by decision. Over the last six years, six spinners have taken more than 100 Test wickets, of whom four are currently active - R Ashwin, Rangana Herath, Nathan Lyon and Yasir Shah.All have been stellar for their teams over the last few years, with the latest match-winning exploit coming from Herath, who took 13 wickets in the Test against Zimbabwe in Harare, which also propelled him to 350 Test wickets in 75 Tests, the second-fastest among spinners. That was his ninth Man-of-the-Match award in 51 Tests during this period; in his previous 24 Tests he had won only one.In fact, the three Asian spinners have been easily the key bowlers for their teams during this period, while Lyon has done his bit as well, though he hasnt come to terms with Asian conditions yet. Ashwin has won seven awards in 39 matches, and Yasir two in 19 (though he has won three series awards in his short career so far).In terms of overall numbers during this period, Ashwin, Herath and Yasir have been outstanding. They have all taken more than five wickets per Test and around 35% of their teams wickets, at averages in the mid-20s, with plenty of five-fors and strike rates of less than 60. Lyons numbers are not as extraordinary, but his problem has been bowling in Asia. He averages 42.57 in the continent, and 31.09 everywhere else.In terms of averages, Ashwins 24.29 is the best among the four, but he has also bowled in extremely spin-friendly conditions in most of the home Tests. The same is largely true for Herath as well, but Yasir has had to toil on true pitches that dont offer as much assistance to spinners.One way to normalise the effects of the pitch is to compare the bowlers numbers with those of other spinners who played in the same game. It may not always ensure a completely fair comparison - the numbers also depend on the quality of other spinners in the match - but it does indicate how the other spinners fared in the same conditions. In the 39 Tests that Ashwin has played, he has averaged 24.29, while the other spinners have averaged 33.09 in those matches. (Ashwin has taken almost 35% of the spin wickets in those games.) The ratio of the averages indicate that Ashwin has been 1.36 timess better than the other spinners.dddddddddddd. The corresponding ratio for Herath is 1.41, which shows Herath has been a bit better than Ashwin when compared to other spinners in the Tests they played. (Excluding the two Tests against Zimbabwe, Heraths ratio is 1.37.)However, those ratios are lower than that of Yasir, who has been truly outstanding especially in the UAE, where conditions that havent offered him - and other spinners - that much assistance. (Yasir also had a ten-wicket haul at Lords earlier this year, though a couple of poor Tests thereafter meant his overall series average was 40.73.) In the 19 Tests Yasir has played, his average is 27.37, while other spinners have averaged 45.76 in the same conditions. That means Yasir has been 1.67 times better than the other spinners in these 19 Tests, which indicates a high level of skill and an ability to conquer conditions.All three of these Asian spinners have exceptional ratios in home Tests (with the UAE counting as home Tests for Yasir). In India, Ashwin averages 20.37 while other spinners have averaged 30.69, giving Ashwin a ratio of 1.51. Herath has averaged 20.77 in 25 home Tests during this period, compared to 33.83 by other spinners in Sri Lanka, giving him a ratio of 1.73, while Yasir is again the best of the lot with a ratio of 1.77 - he averaged 25.34 in ten Tests in the UAE, compared to 44.90 by other spinners.Yasirs overall numbers are also pretty balanced in terms of averages against right- and left-hand batsmen. He averages 28.42 against right-handers and 25.90 against the lefties. Ashwins average is significantly better against left-handers, while 80% of Heraths wickets are of right-hand batsmen. Lyon does better against left-handers too, though he has a fairly high percentage of right-hand wickets.Lyon has an opportunity to improve his Asia numbers when Australia tour India early next year, but the other three are obvious match-winners in favourable conditions. It isnt a surprise that they occupy three of the top six spots on the ICCs Test rankings. ' ' '