AUGUSTA, Ga. Carlos Santana Indians Jersey . -- The first full day at the Masters turned out to be a short one Monday. Augusta National was open for only two hours because of storms, still enough time for a few players to see some of the changes to the golf course -- even though this was supposed to be a year with really no change at all. The ice storm in February that led to the demise of the famous Eisenhower Tree also cost the club countless other trees, giving Augusta a slightly different look. Instead of a forest of Georgia pines, players can see from the 10th fairway all the way across to the 15th fairway. Players couldnt help but notice the number of trees missing from the right side of the narrow, claustrophobic seventh fairway. "You dont feel like youre going down a bowling alley as much," Brandt Snedeker said, his hair wet from wearing a visor in the rain. The club lost thousands of limbs that were damaged from the ice storm, so many that Jimmy Walker said he saw workers up in the trees with chain saws when he came to Augusta a few weeks ago for a practice round. "I havent played here a ton, so I kind of got the feeling you could see down through the golf course a little bit better than you used to be able," Walker said. "I dont know if thats a good thing or a bad thing." Some things never change. The course was starting to burst with colour. The greens already had a tinge of yellow to them. And there was a buzz about the Masters, even without Tiger Woods around for the first time in 20 years because of recent back surgery. Still, nothing stood out quite like the 17th hole. Masters champion Adam Scott always assumed the 440-yard par 4 was a dogleg left because of the 65-foot high loblolly pine that jutted out from the left side about 220 yards from the tee, forcing shots to the right except for the big hitters who could take it over the tree. Mike Weir is not one of the big hitters, so when asked how he found the 17th hole on Monday, the Canadian smiled. "Much friendlier," he said. "I was playing with Jason Day. For him, it doesnt matter. He hits it high and long enough. For me, I had to hit around it. It was probably the toughest drive on the course. Now, its much easier." It was amazing to him to walk up the fairway and see a patch of pine straw where the tree once stood so proud and tall. Weir and several other players assumed that Augusta National would have another pine placed their before the Masters. Maybe next year. But not this week. The tree was such a treasure -- named after former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a club member who hit into the tree far too often -- that it was taken off site for storage. The club will determine later what do with the trunk and what limbs remain. But what a difference it has made already. "If the tree was there, I would have hit it yesterday," said Patrick Reed, who arrived on the weekend and already got in two practice rounds. "It was cold. It was a little into the wind and I hit it down the left side. I knew exactly where the tree was, and I probably would have caught the top half of that tree and would have been underneath it." "First three times I played this course it was there, and it made that hole really hard." Snedeker played on Sunday with Masters rookie Harris English and said he pulled his tee shot on the 17th. Any other year, he would have hit the tree. "It was perfect," he said. "Its still not an easy tee shot. But its not as hard as it used to be." The rest of the course should be the same as usual. The Masters can set up the course any way it likes -- difficult for scoring, or birdies that make cheers reverberate. It has trended toward excitement over the last several years, such as when Charl Schwartzel won with four straight birdies at the end, or even last year when Scott and Angel Cabrera in the last two groups each made birdie on the 18th to force a playoff. The biggest change is likely to be the guy in a red shirt. Woods won his fourth green jacket in 2005, though he usually kept it interesting, and always kept fans guessing. His back surgery last week means the worlds No. 1 player will be out of golf until the summer, and out of the Masters for the first time in his career. "Without Tiger here, its a different feel," Snedeker said. "Its a different event. He does a great job of bringing energy and bringing fans out that we dont usually get." Those fans had to leave early on Monday. By lunch, the course was closed for good. Masters chairman Billy Payne said they would get a refund in May, and they were guaranteed a chance to get practice round tickets for next year. Woods likely will be back by then. And odds are, there will be more trees. Danny Salazar Indians Jersey . Vinatieri will face his former team in Sundays AFC championship game.Post-season Record: 20-9 (Colts were 2-1 when Vinatieri was on injured reserve following 2009 season). Kenny Lofton Indians Jersey .The Knicks fell 101-91 to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, giving New York its longest in-season skid in the proud franchises 69-year history. HARRISON, N.J. -- Omar Cummings helped the Houston Dynamo advance to the MLS Eastern Conference finals. Cummings scored in the 104th minute to help the Dynamo oust the New York Red Bulls with a 2-1 victory on Wednesday night. Cummings scored in the second minute of stoppage time on Sunday to give the Dynamo a 2-2 draw in the first leg. The Dynamo moved on with an aggregate score of 4-3. Houston will face Sporting Kansas City in the East finals, which start on Saturday. The Red Bulls led Sundays game 2-0 before Jamison Olave committed a foul that led to a red-card ejection and allowed Houston to rally for a 2-2 draw. "Its terrible, I guess you cant exorcise every game this year from this club," Red Bulls first-year coach Mike Petke said. "Hats off to Houston, theyre a playoff team and they proved it the last three years. We did it to ourselves these last two games. " On Wednesday night, Red Bulls defender Ibrahim Sekagyas errant pass led to the tying goal by Houston. "It was individual mistakes, and they happen," Petke said. Cummings came off the bench in both matches and Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear went to him in the 64th minute Wednesday. "I was trying to put some fresh legs closer to the goal and hope that something would come out of it and Omar has made me look good for two games in a row here," Kinnear said. Cummings got his foot on a ball that slipped past Red Bulls goalie Luis Robles at the near post. Houston, which won the 2006 and 2007 MLS Cups in its first two years in the league, reached the MLS Cup final in each of the past two seasons, losing in the final each time to the LL. Rougned Odor Rangers Jersey. A. Galaxy. The Red Bulls took a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute on the first career playoff goal by Bradley Wright-Phillips. Lloyd Sam crossed the ball into the box and Dynamo goalie Tally Hall went down to grab it with two hands. But when he hit the ground, the ball squirted out of his grasp and Wright-Phillips was there to knock it into an open net from inside the 6-yard box. "I tried to pin it against the ground and it slipped out," Hall said. "Its a sinking feeling. Whether I made a mistake or not, I still have a job to do for the rest of the game. This team has a will to win like nothing Ive ever seen before. Thats why our jersey has two stars on it (2006 and 2007 MLS titles)." Hall made one of his best saves in the closing seconds of regulation when Thierry Henry hit a bicycle kick on goal, but the Houston goalie managed to block it with his leg. Houston took advantage of a Red Bulls mistake to tie it at 1-1 on a goal by Brad Davis. Sekagya attempted to clear the ball from the top of the penalty area by sending the ball across the middle. The rolling ball went right to the foot of Davis inside the box and he placed it past Robles. "The guy looked up and I knew he was going to try and play it across," Davis said. "Luckily he mishit it, I looked up and it was the goalie and me." The Red Bulls dominated Houston during the regular season, winning all three matches. But the Dynamo extended New Yorks playoff futility, making the Red Bulls winless in their past six playoff games. The Red Bulls had come into the playoffs with an eight-game unbeaten string of 6-0-2. 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