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WASHINGTON -- Billionaire Florida hockey team owner Vincent Viola is known more for his business success and sports deals than his military acumen. But the 1977 West Point graduate, President-elect Donald Trumps choice for Army secretary, has maintained his service ties since leaving active duty.While he has steadily built a financial empire -- listed 374th on Forbes Magazines top 400 with a net worth of $1.8 billion -- he also has poured money and time into the military academy. Viola was a key donor for the creation of West Points Combating Terrorism Center and has supported cadet programs.And as owner of the National Hockey Leagues Florida Panthers, he has sent the team to West Point for training, and there are several West Point graduates and military veterans working in the front office.If he is confirmed by the Senate, Viola will take over as civilian head of an Army struggling to recoup and recapitalize after more than 15 years at war. Under current plans, the Army would continue to downsize from a high of about 570,000 at the peak of the Iraq war, to 450,000 by 2019.Legislation not yet finalized for the next budget year would stall that drawdown at 476,000 soldiers, which is a bit higher than the current size of about 470,000.As secretary, Viola would be responsible for all management, budget, acquisition, personnel and base issues for a vast network of about 150 permanent installations around the world. Army soldiers are deployed in about 140 countries.Viola would replace Eric Fanning, who became secretary this year after spending the last eight years in various leadership positions across the Army, Navy, Air Force and Defense Department, including acting secretary of two services and chief of staff for Defense Secretary Ash Carter. Fannings tenure gave him extensive experience navigating the enormous and complicated Pentagon administrative and fiscal infrastructure -- a key challenge for any successor.A Brooklyn native, Viola paid $250 million for the Florida Panthers and is a past chairman of the New York Mercantile Exchange.He is founder of several businesses, including Virtu Financial, an electronic trading firm. Viola has a stake in the company worth $1.5 billion, based on figures the firm sent in April to regulators.Virtu is a so-called market maker, acting as a middle man selling stocks and other assets to people who want to buy them and buying from people who want to sell.The company operates in the somewhat controversial high-speed trading industry in which firms use super-fast computers and algorithms to spot fleeting opportunities in stock and bond markets. The practice accounts for most stock trading during the day. Advocates say it provides more trading opportunities. Critics say it gives an unfair advantage to a few firms, and could lead to more spikes and plunges in prices.In a statement Monday, President-elect Donald Trump praised Viola, whose father came to the U.S. from Italy, as living proof of the American dream and someone who has long been engaged with national security issues.Violas was the first member of his family to attend college. He trained as an Airborne Ranger infantry officer and served in the 101st Airborne Division. He is a 1983 graduate of New York Law School.---Associated Press Writer Bernard Condon in New York contributed to this report. Tigers Jerseys China . -- Linebacker Myles Jack ran for four touchdowns, defensive end Cassius Marsh caught a scoring pass, and No. Authentic Custom Tigers Jersey . Calgary scored on the first shift, and Michael Cammalleri scored twice as the Flames cruised to a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday. http://www.customtigersjersey.com/ . Didier Drogba gave away the penalty that put Senegal one goal away from a major upset, but the veteran striker will get another chance -- probably his last -- at the World Cup after Salomon Kalous injury-time strike sealed the Ivorians place in Brazil next year. Custom Tigers Jersey China . Bryant, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland in March, reported symptoms on Monday morning, a team spokesman said. Wholesale Custom Tigers Shirts . The 18th player to shoot 60 on the tour, Jamieson settled for par on the final hole when his 15-foot birdie chip grazed the edge of the hole and stayed out. After opening with rounds of 66 and 73 to make the cut by a stroke, he had 11 birdies in the bogey-free round.ENDICOTT, N.Y. -- It has been 33 years since the Champions Tour was born, and its newest champion is somebody special: 50-year-old rookie Bart Bryant is the tours 1,000th winner. Bryant, who shot a tournament record-tying 10-under 62 in the second round to build a four-shot lead, closed with a 72 on Sunday and finished at 16-under 200 to beat Russ Cochran (67) and Corey Pavin (69) by one shot. "It was a difficult day for me. I just never really felt settled," Bryant said, his family standing by his side. "I really didnt play great. Somehow, I managed to get it in. I think we all feel very blessed at the moment to pull this one out." It was a memorable moment for Bryant and the senior tour, which began in 1980 at the Atlantic City Country Club in Atlantic City, N.J. Don January, who won that first tournament, was on hand to congratulate Bryant and hand him the trophy. "We thought there might be a market for us old guys," the 83-year-old January said. "We was just interested in getting enough to make a living. There were a bunch of us guys in our late 40s and early 50s still trying to play the (PGA) tour and wasnt being very successful at it. Yet we felt like we could still play a little bit." The inaugural year consisted of four events. The purse at the Atlantic City Senior International was $125,000 and the total prize money for the season was $475,000. January took home $20,000. Bryant, whose best previous finish this season was a tie for fourth at the 3M Championship in his last start two weeks ago, pocketed $270,000 of the $1.8 million purse. "Truthfully, when we first started we had no idea how long it was going to last, or whether it would even be successful," January said. "We thought we had a pretty good product, but we werent sure of anything. I never thought in that realm of 1,000 tournaments. My god, thats forever. Its come a long way. Hopefully, it will get better." For, Bryant, who won in just his 14th start on the circuit, it was his first victory since winning the 2005 Tour Championship, ending a drought of 7 years, 9 months, 11 days. He also won the 2005 Memorial and the 2004 Valero Texas Open on the PGA Tour. That was before two surgeries on his left wrist relegated him to spectator status for nearly three years and left him wondering if hed ever play again, let alone win. "I dreamed about it. I envisioned it. I dont know if I believed it would happen, especially after I did the first surgery and it failed," Bryant said. "I dont know if I really bought into the belief that it could actually happen this quick." Bryant, who held the largest lead entering the final round of this tournament since its inception in 2007, vowed nott to play conservatively because the narrow, tree-lined En-Joie Golf Club course was yielding lots of birdies under near-ideal conditions.dddddddddddd Luckily for him, nobody made a winning surge on a day where pin placements made going real low somewhat more difficult. "I just made a lot of pars out there," Bryant said. "For some reason, I just wasnt going today with the putter. I dont know if I got a little nervous. I really struggled. Just lucky that nobody got real hot." The key to going low at En-Joie is to keep the ball in the fairway, and nobody did it better than Bryant over the first two rounds. He was a model of consistency, hitting 10 of 14 fairways each day and reaching all but two greens in regulation. Small wonder he was the only player in the field to avoid making a bogey the first two days. That consistency vanished with Bryants first shot Sunday as he hooked his drive at No. 1 into the left rough. He hit just 4 of 7 fairways and reached only five greens in regulation on the front nine. His errant shots finally caught up to him at the par-3 fourth hole when he overshot the green, pitched back past the hole and over a ridge well past the pin and made bogey. Pavin, alone in second at the start of the day, was unable to make putts that were there for the taking on the front and parred every hole. Four birdies and one bogey on the back side werent enough, his putt for birdie at the closing hole missing by inches. "I just couldnt get anything going," Pavin said. "Hats off to Bart. He made a lot of short putts that he needed to make, which are very hard to make under pressure." Cochran, six shots behind after two rounds, reached 13 under with three birdies in his first seven holes to move into second. He reached 16 under with three more birdies on the back, but bogeyed the closing hole and was left wondering what might have been after Bryant did the same. Bryant finally broke through with birdies at Nos. 8 and 9. He spun his third shot at the par-5 eighth hole to within 2 feet, eliciting a nice cheer from the gallery, and calmly sank a 10-foot putt at No. 9 to go 17 under. "That calmed me down a little bit and gave me a tad of breathing room," Bryant said. "All I really could do was stay patient. I just didnt have much of a game. I dont know if it was the nerves or what. I felt like that was my only chance, to stay patient and not force the issue and hopefully do something at the end to separate myself." He parred the next eight holes before bogeying 18, missing a terrific opportunity after driving to 7 feet at No. 17. "I probably have to get a lot stronger mentally," Bryant said. "Hopefully, this will propel me." ' ' '