RIO DE JANEIRO -- It turns out Rory McIlroy did watch Olympic golf. At least enough to know that Justin Rose was the winner and to congratulate the Englishman on capturing Olympic gold for Great Britain.McIlroy, who would have played for Ireland, elected to skip the Olympic Golf Tournament, citing several reasons, among them that he didnt feel golf had a big place in the Games.Im very happy with the decision that Ive made and have no regrets about it, he said last month at Royal Troon prior to The Open. Ill probably watch the Olympics, but Im not sure golf will be one of the events I watch.When asked what he would watch, McIlroy said: Probably the events like track and field, swimming, diving, the stuff that matters.That was given added bite by the fact that the top four players in the world skipped the Olympics.When Rose was asked Monday if he had heard from McIlroy, he said he had received a text.He was very, very proud and he said he was pulling for me, said Rose, who birdied the final hole Sunday to defeat Henrik Stenson for the gold medal. He said basically he could see how much it meant to me and congratulations.He was very complimentary and obviously he made a point that he really wanted golf to succeed as an Olympic sport. He has his own personal opinions on it that are very personal to him and thats fine, but as a whole, hes very much behind golf succeeding in the Olympics. Like I said, he was very, very complimentary.And Rose said, Obviously, he watched.Rose was scheduled to leave Rio on Sunday night but ended up staying an extra day and has been overwhelmed by the attention back home and among sports fans in general -- including his 7-year-old son, Leo.Ive never seen my little boy in tears, might start crying myself, Rose said. Ive never seen it resonate so much with him. Hes just beginning to understand what sport is all about.He received a medal for a Winter Olympic soccer football camp this past week. And he got a medal and said to me: Ive got my medal, now its time for you to get yours. He was actually crying on the phone, and that was very, very special. Salomon Shoes Clearance Canada . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. Salomon Shoes Outlet Canada . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void. http://www.salomonsalecanada.com/ . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Salomon Shoes Canada Sale .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. Salomon Sale Canada . The 43-year-old closer, in his 19th and final big league season, has said hed like to play the outfield. Yankees manager Joe Girardi says hes thinking about allowing Rivera to do it this weekend, when the Yankees finish their season with a three-game series at the Houston Astros. NRL referees boss Tony Archer has applauded his officials for not being swayed by the upswing in talk about Melbournes wrestling tactics during this years finals series.Storm coach Craig Bellamy last week lashed out at critics who he claimed routinely come out to bash his teams playing style at the business end of the season.However, Bellamys men overcame the barrage of judgement to progress to a highly-anticipated decider against premiership-less Cronulla on Sunday.The man who oversaw the preliminary final between the Storm and Canberra, Matt Cecchin, was rewarded for a strong game by being named lead referee at ANZ Stadium.Archer expects his officials to continue their form in the biggest game of the year.What I expect is the referees to continue the referee the ruck area the way they have in the semi-final period because I think theyve handled it really well, he told AAP.Theres always going to be a level of debate around officiating as the stakees get higher.ddddddddddddArcher said there were two main elements when it came to officiating the ruck.Ones whether or not theres any elements of foul play, and the second is the release of the defenders. Thats determined by the type of tackle and who won the play the ball, he said.Cecchin said the desperation of coaches and players during the finals series meant there would naturally be an increase in scrutiny over referees.But he vowed not to enter the game with a particular mindset.Archer will back this up - Im a very uncomplicated referee. I dont go in there with a massive game plan, or a lot of preparation, he said.I found when Id done that in the past, I get let down when things dont go to plan.So I go in there now with a very open mind. I treat my play the ball with time and do my best with every play the ball. ' ' '