Home favourite Thongchai Jaidee and defending champion Andrew Dodt will both have to overcome illness to win the True Thailand Classic in Hua Hin this week. Jaidee spent three days in a Bangkok hospital with a virus which forced him to withdraw from the Maybank Championship Malaysia - despite opening rounds of 66 and 69 - and miss last weeks WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral.But the 46-year-old hopes to be fit enough to go one better than last years share of second place at Black Mountain Golf Club, where he owns a villa overlooking the ninth green. I want to get my feeling back, world No 37 Jaidee told a pre-tournament press conference. Last week I rested and started to practise. Hopefully I feel better. I think Im 70 or 80 per cent now, but I want to be 100 per cent. Its bad when you get sick. Dodt claimed a one-shot victory last year Last year I had a good chance to win but unfortunately I wasnt good enough with the putting. I know the field is quite strong and Ill try my best. I played nine holes on Monday and Tuesday and 18 holes on Wednesday. Im practising well, hitting it well and putting well.In golf, anything can happen. Some guy can hit top form and beat the field. Every week, I play my own game and play the golf course. You have to have a perfect week to win. If someone shoots a low score, you cant do anything. Anyone can win a tournament here.Dodt carded a closing 67 last year to beat fellow Australian Scott Hend and Jaidee by a single shot and secure his second European Tour title, but the 30-year-old has been suffering from the flu since his return to Thailand. Dodt was still able to practice ahead of his title defence Twenty-four hours ago I wasnt very good; Ive improved slightly, Dodt said. This morning was a test, to see if I could get through the pro-am.Im not feeling the greatest but you know what they say about beware of the sick golfer. I hope to use that to my advantage. There are a lot of good memories from last year. I remember almost every shot and a lot of them were really good. Its nice to come back to somewhere that youve played well before.The home challenge is bolstered by world number 44 Kiradech Aphibarnrat, although the three-time European Tour winner only arrived back on home soil after a 22-hour journey from Miami. Thongchai Jaidee had to withdraw during the Maybank Championship Ive got a lot of air miles, joked Aphibarnrat, who finished 49th at Doral on Sunday. Im a bit tired and still have jet-lag, but its great to be back playing in your home country and in front of your fans and family, and especially my wife who will come this week.I think shell come on Sunday as she knows about the prize money and shell come to collect the money!Watch the True Thailand Classic throughout the week live on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf. Live coverage gets underway on Thursday from 8am. Or watch from £6.99 without a contract, live on NOW TV. 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Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The perception pains Dwight Howard. He doesnt think its fair or accurate that many consider him a bad teammate and an underachieving goofball who doesnt care enough about his craft to fully take advantage of his immense physical gifts.Howard, however, knew he needed to make major changes after a third consecutive awkward, disappointing ending to his tenure with a team. Over the course of the last year, he has changed agents, tightened and revamped his inner circle and left the Houston Rockets in his rear-view mirror while joining his hometown Atlanta Hawks.Howard even switched numbers, ditching the 12 he wore for the first dozen years of his career in favor of symbolic No. 8. The number means new beginnings, new life, Howard said. I wanted to get away from my old ways and stuff like that, so I changed my number. It has some significant meanings with my mom, some personal reasons. I just wanted to change it up.With Howard getting settled in with his fourth franchise, ESPN caught up with the eight-time All-Star after a preseason win Oct. 6 over the Memphis Grizzlies in the FedEx Forum.Q: When you say new beginnings, whats that mean?A: I changed up everything around me. I hold myself more accountable in certain situations. I try to be a better man, a better father, a better teammate. I know a lot of the stuff thats been said about me that I cant really control and has been false, but at the same time, I just want to show this city who I really am and show my teammates what kind of teammate I am. Theyve been great to me, and I think its a great situation for me to be in.Q: Youve been in the spotlight since you were an 18-year-old kid who was the No. 1 pick, and that spotlight has gotten brighter throughout the course of your career. You mentioned the perception of you. Why does that bother you? A: It has bothered me because I know who I am and what kind of teammate Ive always been. For certain things to be said, it really did bother me, but the only way to shut people up is just by winning and just playing basketball and not allowing that kind of stuff to really affect who I am away from the game.Q: Who is Dwight Howard?A: Im a fun person to be around, laid back, love to have fun. Ill joke all day, but once I get in the gym, Im going to work hard. Thats one thing I pride myself on is working hard in the weight room, working hard in practice, trying to become a better player. I hated that perception that I didnt work hard, that I really dont love the game. This game has brought me a lot of joy, brought me a lot of good things. Just that side of it has really affected me. I know you cant please everybody; you cant make everybody happy, but just getting that perception that I dont care about this game and what it brings is a lie.Q: Do you feel that you feel that youre not allowed to have fun, not allowed to smile, not allowed to be yourself? A: Yeah, a lot of times I do feel like that. When Im smiling, Im supposedly not taking the game seriously. When Im not smiling, then its like, He dont care. Hes just out there. When I was in Orlando and everything was going well and we were winning, even in L.A. when we won those games and stuff like that, me smiling didnt bother people. But like I said, you really cant please people. I know everybodys attention is on what Im doing on the floor. My job is to be the best teammate I can be, push these guys to the limit every day, make sure that Im being the right type oof leader.dddddddddddd Q: Youre a lovable personality when you smile and win, but when you smile and lose, youre a clown. A: Correct, but its OK. Stuff will change. Im on a great team, got a lot of great guys in this locker room, great coaching staff and theyre going to hold me accountable for everything. Its something I want to have. I want to be held accountable. I want my teammates and my coaches to push me to be the best that I can be. This is a great situation.Q: You mentioned changing things this summer. Whatd you change? A: Just things off the court, a lot of the stuff that was happening around me, just personal things. I tried to change that up and just really start over, get a clean slate. No offense to the people that I had around me, but I just wanted to start over, start fresh. Like I said, its a new beginning, so I wanted everything to be fresh. I didnt want to bring any old baggage or anything from my past to this organization. They believe in me, this city believes in me, so I just wanted to make sure that when Im out there on the court that Im free, that I can give this city and this team everything that Ive got.?Q: Im sure youve thought a lot about this. You go to Houston and James [Harden] is entering his prime, youre in your prime, your games seemed to be complementary. Why didnt that work?A: Well, sometimes things dont work like they should. Ive never had an issue with James. I wish him nothing but the best. I just think the timing of everything was a little bit different. Thats OK. All that stuff did was just mold me for this moment here, this organization, this team. Theyve asked me to be a leader. Its my job to come in here every night and provide physicality and the leadership that this team needs.?Q: This is a good situation for you. Youre home. Youre making money that 99.999999 percent of the world would ... A: [Interrupting] Its not even just the money part, but the fact that Im able to play at home, the fact that Im able to play for Coach [Mike Budenholzer], who has been nothing but unbelievable. The whole staff has been great. Just the team, just the whole atmosphere is something that Ive always prayed for and I always wanted, so Im very grateful.Q: Were you surprised there werent max offers on the table?A: Well, I knew all the situations that was going on. I really only looked into one place and that was the Hawks. I didnt go to other teams. As soon as free agency opened, I met with Coach Bud and [general manager Wes Wilcox]. After the meeting, I went back to my car and I was like, Man, this is where I want to be. I didnt need to meet with other teams. I didnt care about what offers were on the table. I wanted to be in Atlanta. I wanted to represent for this team.Q: Physically, how do you feel?A: My body feels great. I took five days off last summer and have been working out since then. I havent had any issues. I feel good. Playing 13 years is a long time, but I feel really good. Its not like Im [old]. Im just thankful. Before the game when the announcer said, In his 13th season ... it was kind of weird. Coming from an 18-year-old [when he was drafted], now Im 30, its a great situation.Q: Do you feel you can still be as dominant as youve been earlier in your career?A: No doubt, and theyre going to push me to be that player that I can be. Its going to happen. ' ' '