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NEW YORK -- For the last five years, the top rules experts in golf have come together from around the world to study a jigsaw puzzle.Thats what Thomas Pagel of the USGA refers to as the book more commonly known as the Rules of Golf.The purpose of these private meetings essentially is to break up the puzzle and start over so the rules make more sense, without losing sight of the tradition or ethos of a game with six centuries behind it. Sessions can last at least eight hours. The singular goal is to make the rules less complicated.It has not been easy.Everyone wants the game to be simple, but its a complex game, Pagel, the USGAs senior director of rules, said in an interview at the Olympics. You have a little white ball that can and will go anywhere, and the rules try to handle all those situations. Theres always going to be a level of complexity. But how can we modernize the rules so theyre easier to understand and easier to apply so golfers can play confidently that they at least understand the basics?The group is closing in on its first draft.Pagel declined to give a timetable, though USGA executive director Mike Davis said it could be released next year. A modern set of rules is still years away. The development was welcomed by top players who have loads of experience and still cant confidently handle a rules issue without calling an official.Id be behind it 100 percent, Kevin Kisner said. The game is too slow, too hard and theres too many rules. I wouldnt know where to begin with how many rules there should be. I would think as minimal as possible. And we dont need all these dashes and as and bs and cs. Its too confusing.Jordan Spieth recalls getting a Rules of Golf book at a junior tournament with instructions to keep it in his bag for quick reference.I never opened it, he said.Neither did Dustin Johnson. He lost out on a chance to win the 2010 PGA Championship for grounding his club in sand that he didnt realize was a bunker. And he won the U.S. Open this year at Oakmont by playing the final seven holes without knowing if he would have to add one penalty stroke to his score.Hes not sure reading the book would have helped.The USGA sends you that rule book, but I dont think its ever made it out from the envelope to the trash can, Johnson said. There so many rules that dont make any sense. They could make it a lot simpler and a lot better.If only it were that simple.You cant change one piece because the tentacles ... its going to break something else, he said. Its tough to handle something in isolation. So lets look at everything, step back and take the puzzle part and see where we can make improvements.The result could be the most comprehensive overhaul of the rules, which in this case might shrink the book.The first set of rules was published in 1744, but that was specific to one club. As golf grew, and the number of clubs increased, so did the rules. The Royal & Ancient took over and produced a set of rules in 1899, which the USGA adopted. The R&A and USGA issued the first joint code of rules in 1952, and there were significant changes in 1984. Not to be overlooked is the Decisions on the Rules of Golf, which amounts to a Q&A of specific incidents.The most recent edition has 1,200 decisions.I dont like the size of the book, but its one of those deals where you try to address the questions that come up, Pagel said. In the future, how can you provide guidance to committees so they can get to the correct answers without having 1,200 Q&As? And thats one of our objectives.The first draft will be made available to everyone, from recreational players to tour administrators to rules gurus. What will follow surely will be the largest comment period ever for the R&A and USGA. This is a book that impacts millions of golfers, Pagel said. They should have the opportunity to comment.And then it will be back to work on the puzzle.Pagel said five years into this project we still havent addressed everything.But we think we can do it more efficiently, perhaps change some outcomes, make them more reasonable and overall simplify the way the rules are written and look at how the rules are delivered, he said. Its still going to look like golf, feel like golf, still have the challenge of golf. Were going to make it easier for golfers to play by the rules and feel comfortable playing by the rules.Golfers want to play by the rules, he said. They just find it challenging at times for the book to allow them to do that.Walt Tkaczuk Rangers Jersey . -- Lou Brocks shoulder-to-shoulder collision with Bill Freehan during the 1968 World Series and Pete Roses bruising hit on Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star game could become relics of baseball history, like the dead-ball era. 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Ron Duguay Rangers Jersey . -- Former San Diego Chargers safety Paul Oliver was found dead at his Atlanta-area home Tuesday night, and a medical examiner said Wednesday that the ex-player committed suicide.A missed interest payment could threaten the future of the Devils in New Jersey, according to a New York Post report. The Posts Josh Kosman reported Monday that Aprils missed payment – six months after owner Jeff Vanderbeek restructured the teams nearly $170 million worth of debt – is the latest financial pitfall to hinder the franchise. Vanderbeek made a deal to refinance the teams debt and buy out his partners at the end of 2012 in an effort to stabilize the Devils finances. The agreement combined the debt of the team with that of Devils Arena Entertainment, the operator of the Prudential Center. That deal required Vanderbeek to make an interest payment of nearly $3 million, according to the Post, which Vanderbeek was unable to do in April.dddddddddddd The missed payment now puts Vanderbeek at risk of defaulting on the loan. The Devils are reportedly seeking up to $20 million from the sale of a minority stake in the team in an effort to have the teams financial issues resolved by this summer. The New York Post reports that the NHL has twice aided the Devils over the past year, accounting for roughly $30 million in loans, and advances in licensing and other shared revenues. New Jersey reportedly suffered due to the lockout, losing sponsorship and attendance money over the course of the 2012 NHL lockout and was further hit by the teams inability to make the playoffs in the 2012-13 season. ' ' '