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SALT LAKE CITY — What a weekend. From improbable Cinderellas in the NCAA Tournament to World Cup qualifying soccer in the snow and golf pro Sergio Garcia swing his club from a tree.
In the final round of the 2013 Arnold Palmer Invitational, Garcia's tee shot on the 10th hole landed in a tree. Not near a tree or at the base of a tree, actually in the tree.
Unwilling to take a drop, Garcia climbed that blasted tree, found some decent footing, hung on for dear life with his left hand, then swung his club one-handed and backwards to knock his second shot onto the fairway.
The shot was pretty tricky and undoubtedly impressive. His landing on his dismount? Not so much.
'It was an embarrassment'Sore losers? Or does Costa Rica have a beef with Friday night's win by the United States in a World Cup qualifier on a snow-covered soccer field.
The U.S. beat Costa Rica 1-0 on a Clint Dempsey goal in the 16th minute and from there the Americans hung on for the victory. But Costa Rica was none too pleased and has filed a formal complaint with FIFA.
"I asked them to stop. They should suspend the ref," Costa Rica coach Jorge Luis Pinto said. "It was an embarrassment. It was an insult to Costa Rica and people coming in here."
Plows and shovels were used to clear the penalty areas, center circle and midfield stripe as snow got heavier, and a yellow-and-purple ball was used.
"It was difficult out here to see anything," Dempsey said. "The second half, the snow coming up past your ankles, it was almost unplayable."
But U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann wanted to play on.
It's for both teams very difficult to play all the way through. I would have done anything possible to not stop it."
Whatever the outcome of the protest, it was cool to see soccer actually tough something out.
Deja vu all over againAbout two months ago NBA superstar LeBron James tackles a Heat fan in excitement after the fan nailed a halfcourt shot winning himself $75,000.
Fast forward to Sunday night and another superstar NBA player is tackling a fan for his remarkable accuracy.
During the Oklahoma City's 103-83 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, Thunder fan Justin Dougherty hit a shot from halfcourt to win $20,000 and went nuts.
He ran the length of the court, into the tunnel to hug his girlfriend, ran back to center court and waved at the Thunder bench for someone to join him. And leave it to a superstar to oblige.
Kevin Durant ran towards Dougherty and jumped on him in celebration, bringing back memories of LeBron famous celebration.
Superstars being fan favorites. That's awesome.
Superstar interviewSpeaking of LeBron, after demolishing the Charlotte Bobcats Sunday night for the Heat's 26th straight win, James did his typical post-game interview to talk about the 32-point victory.
But the interviewer wasn't your typical TV guy. It was his teammate Dwayne Wade decked out in a white suit.
The interview wasn't all that good. It was a hodgepodge of questions and answers and got video bombed by Chris Bosh, but it just shows you how much fun these guys are having.
And, how much fun it is to win, and win a lot.
Here's some more video proof.
NCAA Cinderellas
And if you haven't heard there are two Cinderellas in this year's NCAA Tournament, but one's stealing all the attention.
Both 13th seed LaSalle and 15th seed Florida Gulf Coast have improbably advanced to the Sweet 16. But poor LaSalle; Florida Gulf Coast is getting the royal treatment being the first 15 seed to ever make it to the Round of 16.
LaSalle has knocked off Boise St. in the first round, then 4th seed Kanasa State and 12th seed Ole Miss in the West region and is now set to face Wichita St., which upset 1st seed Gonzaga, on Thursday. FGCU beat 2 seed Georgetown and 7th seed San Diego St. and will now go up against in-state foe Florida, a 3rd seed in the South bracket. FGCU beat Florida earlier this season, proving this run through the NCAA tourney isn't a fluke.
Makes sense, I guess. But how far do you want to see these Cinderellas go?
