The Original Game » onth at Merion for the U.S. Open, and s

Dottie Pepper is returning to golf broadcasting, signing a deal with ESPN that she calls a perfect fit of TV work and promoting junior golf. Granit Xhaka Jersey . Pepper retired from NBC Sports in December after eight years because she was weary of the travel and wanted to devote her time to getting more juniors involved in golf. She joined the PGA of America as one of its board members. "Its the dream fit," Pepper told The Associated Press. "I love what I do, and now I can do enough of it and still have a life. Its just the major championships, and next year Ill work eight events. Its fabulous." Pepper will start work next month at Merion for the U.S. Open, and she has already been to the golf course. ESPN televises the weekday rounds of the U.S. Open, the U.S. Womens Open and the U.S. Senior Open. ESPN has full coverage of the British Open, Senior British Open and Womens British Open. She already had planned to be at the Womens British Open because its the final qualifying event for the Solheim Cup. Pepper is an assistant captain. Next year, she will be part of the ESPNs weekday coverage of the Masters and Friday coverage of the Ryder Cup. Pepper, a 17-time winner on the LPGA with two majors, will work on the course and in the booth during live play for ESPN. She also will be an analyst during the networks golf coverage on SportsCenter and write occasionally for the website. She was a contributing columnist for Sports Illustrated when she worked for NBC. "Were very pleased to have the opportunity for Dottie to join our team," said Mike McQuade, vice-president of production for ESPN. "Her knowledge, experience and professionalism will bring another layer of strength to our golf coverage." Pepper said there was mutual interest when ESPN called, but it came with a caveat. She wanted to make sure that joining ESPN would not affect Judy Rankin, the longtime ABC Sports and ESPN golf analyst whom Pepper considers a close friend and mentor. It was Rankin who in 1999 suggested that Pepper be hired to work the U.S. Womens Amateur. "I wanted to make it very clear to them that I was in no way wanting to displace Judy Rankin, who has been incredibly important to me as a player and a mentor," Pepper said. "They said there was no question wed be working together. Shes a legend." Pepper said she missed working television during the Match Play Championship, the Florida Swing and The Players Championship, along with the relationships she formed at NBC Sports. "Im so competitive," she said. "That was my release." She was headed to Long Island on Wednesday to play National Golf Links and to walk the course at Sebonack, which will host the U.S. Womens Open the last week in June. Pepper said she will be arriving later than usual for that one because she has a PGA board meeting in Oregon that week. "Im really excited to get back," she said. Lucas Torreira Arsenal Jersey . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. Victor Moses converted a 20th-minute penalty after an Ethiopian handball, and Victor Obinna made certain of Nigerias place in Brazil with his powerful free kick in the 82nd at UJ Esuene Stadium. Stephan Lichtsteiner Arsenal Jersey .J. Ellis hit two-run homers and the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 4-0 Saturday night. http://www.footballarsenalstore.com/Wome...enal-Fc-Jersey/ . Barcelona also left injured defenders Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba out of its squad for the trip to Glasgow. That means that Marc Bartra will probably start again in the centre of the defence alongside Gerard Pique. This story is part of ESPN The Magazines Oct. 31 NBA Preview Issue. Subscribe today!Indianapolis ColtsOverall: 42 Title track: T26 Ownership: 56 Coaching: 62 Players: 51 Fan relations: 55 Affordability: 55 Stadium experience: 38 Bang for the buck: 38 Change from last year: -31Missing the playoffs for the first time since 2011, poor offensive line play and tension in the front office all played a part in the Colts plummeting 31 spots in these rankings. This team spent the offseason before 2015 adding veteran players it felt were good enough to get the Colts to the Super Bowl -- only to end up way short of those goals.Whats goodLucas Oil Stadium is still a favorite of fans, ranking 38th overall (11th in the NFL), and the Colts reasonable ticket prices and winning record mean they always place well in bang for the buck. More good news: Andrew Luck isnt going anywhere anytime soon, after Jim Irsay gave him a six-year, $140 million deal during the offseason. And Irsay and the front office are slowly attempting to add younger pieces around him, so that they dont waste his talent.Whats badCoach Chuck Pagano has led the Colts to the playoffs in three of his four seasons -- including the AFC Championship Game in 2014 -- and even had the Colts (8-88) on the brink last year without Luck for most of the season. Mesut Ozil Jersey. But not everything has gone smoothly for them under Pagano -- as seen by his 62nd-place ranking, down 26 spots from last year. Pagano arrived in Indianapolis with a defensive reputation in 2012, but the Colts are still waiting to put a top-of-the-line defensive unit on the field in his tenure: Theyve finished 20th or worse in defense under Pagano in three of his four seasons.Whats newThe Colts will always remain relevant as long as they have Luck, but fans are losing patience with the rest of this roster: That ranking fell all the way from 15th last year to 51st in 2016. The quarterback has talented skill position players to turn to in receivers T.Y. Hilton, Donte Moncrief and Phillip Dorsett, as well as tight end Dwayne Allen. General manager Ryan Grigson tried to address the offensive line by using half of the teams eight draft picks on offensive linemen. But the issue with the Colts is an aging defense that has six starters -- including three of four starting linebackers -- at least 30 years old.Next: Minnesota Vikings?| Full rankings ' ' '