FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- The top five players on the PGA Tour this season should be plenty rested going into the FedEx Cup playoffs.Most of them havent played since the PGA Championship three weeks ago.Thats because most of them didnt go to the Olympics.Jason Day is the No. 1 player in the world and No. 1 in the FedEx Cup, narrowly moving past U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson on the strength of his runner-up finish at the PGA Championship. They are followed by Adam Scott, Russell Knox and Jordan Spieth.Knox won the Travelers Championship a week after the PGA Championship, but with a chance to earn Ryder Cup points last week, the Scot decided he needed a rest.The playoffs begin Thursday at The Barclays, which returns to Bethpage Black.At the end of this five-week bonanza is a $10 million bonus to the winner. Thats still a long way off. For now, there is plenty to keep their attention.RYDER CUP QUALIFYING: The Barclays is the final week for American players to earn points -- one point for every $1,000 in PGA Tour earnings -- toward getting one of the eight automatic spots on the Ryder Cup team.Five already have been decided -- Johnson, Spieth, Phil Mickelson, PGA champion Jimmy Walker and Brooks Koepka. Brandt Snedeker tied for third last week to move up to No. 6 and would appear to be safe. He is ahead of Zach Johnson and Patrick Reed, the lone Olympian from that group.The purse at The Barclays is $8.5 million, so nothing is set except for whos not going to make it. Charley Hoffman at No. 22 is the last player who has a mathematical shot, and its a long shot at that.As for Rickie Fowler? He would have to finish no worse than a two-way tie for fourth.THE POINTS: The PGA Tour made a slight tweak to the points system for the FedEx Cup playoffs. Points are quadrupled for the next three weeks, instead of being five times their normal value in previous years.The hope is that it allows for volatility in these big events, without someone far down in the pack having one good week and being locked in for the Tour Championship.The top 125 qualify for the playoffs, and then its a matter of attrition.The top 100 in the FedEx Cup standings advance to the second playoff event next week at the Deutsche Bank Championship; the top 70 advance to the BMW Championship the following week at Crooked Stick outside Indianapolis. The top 30 move on to the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta.THE COURSE: Bethpage Black rose to prominence when the public golf course hosted the U.S. Open in 2002, and Tiger Woods held off Sergio Garcia and Mickelson to win his second U.S. Open. It hosted another U.S. Open in 2009, when Lucas Glover won in a rain-delayed finish.Now its on the rotation for the FedEx Cup playoffs, with Nick Watney winning The Barclays in 2012.The course is famous for its warning sign on the first tee: The Black Course is an extremely difficult course which we recommend only for highly skilled golfers.It should say its a risk even for really good players, Spieth said. The course Ive played the last two days is up there with the hardest, probably top-five courses Ive ever played in my life. And its Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, and its soft.THE BUBBLE: Jim Furyk (No. 94) and Steve Stricker (No. 98) did well to make it to the playoffs because of their limited schedules -- Stricker only plays a dozen times a year, and Furyk started late because of wrist surgery.All it takes is one good week to keep advancing. If they miss the cut, odds are they wont stay in the top 100.Among those outside the top 100 are Keegan Bradley at No. 106. Happy to be here is Shawn Stefani, who tied for 14th last week to move into the top 125 (at No. 123) and even have a chance.PLAYER OF THE YEAR: The FedEx Cup figures to sort out who will be the front-runner for PGA Tour player of the year.Major champions typically get the vote from the players, but there are four of them this year -- Danny Willett, Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson and Jimmy Walker. Jason Day won The Players Championship and leads the tour with three victories, so he cant be ruled out.Day believes he only has to win two events to be voted player of the year. Darin Erstad Jersey . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. J. C. Ramirez Jersey . A big centre with all the tools to be an elite player, Johansen paced the Blue Jackets with a standout game Saturday night. He had a goal and two assists for a career-high three points as Columbus beat the New York Islanders 5-2 to snap a five-game losing streak. http://www.baseballangelslockroom.com/matt-harvey-angels-jersey/ . 24 Baylor in a Big 12 clash between teams trending in opposite directions. Andrew Wiggins made 10-of-12 from the foul line and scored 17 for Kansas (14-4, 5-0 Big 12), which capped a stretch of four straight games against ranked opponents unscathed. Matt Harvey Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Fred Lynn Angels Jersey . One game after a miserable showing in Oklahoma City, Gay tied a career high with 41 points and the Sacramento Kings cruised to a 114-97 victory at the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.MONACO -- Finishing fastest in both of Thursdays practice sessions for the Monaco Grand Prix isnt enough to get Nico Rosberg too excited. He knows Mercedes has yet to prove it can last the pace on race day. The German driver clocked a time of 1 minute, 14.759 seconds to finish .318 in front of teammate Lewis Hamilton and .437 ahead of Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso in the second session. The times were generally faster than in the first session. But having taken pole position in the past two races and failed to finish in the top five, Rosberg is wary about reading too much into qualifying and practice speeds. Hamilton topped the grid at the Chinese GP three races ago, and Mercedes secured a 1-2 in qualifying two weeks ago in Spain -- but neither driver has won a race yet. "It seems that we are quick again on one lap, but we have been working hard again to make improvements to our race pace," said Rosberg, whose best result this season was fourth at the Malaysian GP. "It will be interesting to see where we are compared to the others over the weekend, as its not really representative today." Monaco is the hardest track for overtaking, and a repeat front-row performance in Saturdays qualifying will set up Mercedes to end that barren run -- but only if the car improves its durability. "The true test will come on Sunday, but Im pleased with the technical work that we covered in the two practice sessions today," team principal Ross Brawn said. "Both Nico and Lewis, along with our engineers, did a very good job working together through the program. A pleasing start to the weekend, and now we have to make the right decisions for Saturday and Sunday." Hamilton, the 2008 F1 champion, has two third-place finishes this season and feels Mercedes is close to getting that first win. "The car is almost there and the pace looks good," the Briton said. "Well loook at the data tonight and work on those areas which can still be improved.dddddddddddd" Three-time defending F1 champion Sebastian Vettel finished 10th in the morning session and ninth in the afternoon. "Unfortunately we lost quite a lot of time in the afternoon while we were making some changes," Vettel said. "Wed like to be a little bit more competitive, so we need to try and find some more lap time." Romain Grosjean was forced out of the second session after smashing into the barrier at Sainte Devote. He was unharmed and his car was lifted off the track by a crane. The session was briefly halted by a red flag as marshals removed some metal debris from the track. "I didnt have the grip I expected going into the corner, but there was nothing wrong with the car," Grosjean said. "My braking and entry speed were all wrong and I ended up hitting the barrier ... I was committed to the corner so that was it." Hamilton and Alonso both had narrow escapes, going perilously close to hitting barriers. Alonso won the Spanish GP, with Kimi Raikkonen finishing second and Massa third. Finishing ahead of both Red Bulls was a boost for Ferrari, with Vettel coming fourth and teammate Mark Webber fifth. On Thursday, Webber was fifth quickest in the second run, ahead of Lotus driver Raikkonen. Rosberg finished ahead of Alonso and Grosjean in the first session. Ferraris brief in recent races has been to close the gap on Red Bull in qualifying, because neither Massa nor Alonso has been on pole. Alonso won in Spain from fifth on the grid, but that is unlikely to be good enough in Monaco. Only two drivers have won from outside of pole in the last 10 years on this track -- and they both started from third place. Red Bull has captured the past three races in Monaco, all from pole. Webber won last year and in 2010, and Vettel took the checkered flag in 2011. ' ' '