While Rubio was busy catching up with fellow Spaniard Pau Gasol, Kobe intervened, asking the two if they were talking about the upcoming Summer Games in London.  That led to the following exchange between the two:

Kobe: “You talking about London?”

Gasol: “Oh yeah.”

Rubio to Kobe: “You gonna be there?”

Kobe: “Of course.”

Rubio: “You know you’re gonna get the silver medal, right?  You know that!”

Kobe: “Sheeeet.  I’m taking bets.  If I win I get the key to Barcelona.”

Rubio: “I’ll bet what you want.”

Kobe: “I’ll take it.”

Spain to beat the USA for the men’s basketball gold medal at the 2012 London Games?  That’s quite the bold statement from Ricky.  We’ll see if he and his Spanish teammates can back that up come July 27 when the Summer Olympics kick off.

In the meantime, you can watch the entire exchange between the two international stars in the video below.

“Don’t call it a comeback, I’ve been here for years.”

And he didn’t stop there.  Tiger had the same message for his Twitter followers, as he posted the following on his Twitter account after his victory:

So at Tiger’s request, we won’t call it a comeback, or a return, or a revival.  Instead, we’ll simply congratulate him on his 83rd tournament victory and leave the rest to LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out”.

(The video link in his Twitter message will direct you to the following clip…in case you haven’t already figured that out.)

Hat Tip – [SB Nation]

Shakira

Na looked like a complete disaster on the 15th hole during the third round of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas, as his tee shot turned into a complete whiff, with his club missing the ball entirely.  Na claims that he had to “come up and go over the ball” on purpose as his swing did not feel right on the way down and he did not want to be penalized for the miss.

Even stranger than the whiff was the fact that Na would go on to win the tournament by two strokes over Nick Watney, who can’t be feeling good about losing to a guy who was struggling to make contact with the ball off the tee.

As for the strangest thing of all, that would be the fact that this isn’t even the most embarrassing thing to happen to Na on a golf course this season.

Here is another look at Na’s whiff.

Hat Tip – [Devil Ball]

The LPGA doesn’t get enough respect. Sure, you’ve probably heard that conventional argument dozens, if not hundreds of times before, but there’s another angle that transcends athletic ability. There are some bona fide hotties on the LPGA tour and elsewhere. And a disproportionate amount hail from South Korea. Why is that?

I don’t know. We’re friendly with that Korea, so it’s not a political issue. Perhaps it’s simply geographic proximity. They’re far away. But in this age, no area escapes the reach of the Internet. It’s everywhere, and it’s bringing the Korean ladies of golf right to you. You’re welcome.

12. Shi Hyun Ahn

At 19 years, Ahn was the youngest non-American winner of an LPGA event in 2003. Sure, that’s nothing compared to gymnasts and Capriati, but many of that gang don’t experience the happiest of endings.

11. Na Yeon Choi

Though Choi didn’t qualify for a fully-exempt card (meaning that she could walk into any tournament on the LPGA) she performed well enough that she pretty much found her way into every tournament regardless. Boom! That’s the loophole. If “the loophole” was performing really well and working hard. The loophole is probably just “the way.”

10. Jimin Kang

Jump back! A hot female athlete from Arizona State? It’s crazy enough to be true. At 25 she knocked in a hole-in-one in tourney play. What have you ever done that’s so great?

9. In-Kyung Kim

By the time she was 22, she had four LPGA tourney victories. And she’s only 5’ 3”. Why does that matter? I don’t know, but I feel like it would be less impressive if she was tall, right?

8. Meena Lee

At fourteen, she took up golf. At nineteen, she was the amateur champion. Five years is a pretty rapid ascent from “nothing” to “the best.” Especially in golf, where age doesn’t mean much.

7. Na On Min

She won an amateur tourney at 14 and got her LPGA card. She hasn’t placed higher than third since then, but this is “hottest golfers,” not “best golfers.” You wouldn’t really want to see the “best golfers” list.

6. Seo Hee-kyung

This 24 year-old hasn’t made the full leap to the LPGA, having won only one tournament (a non-major). However, she’s still plugging along. She is not to be trifled with. At 5’7”, she is among the tallest on this list, so she could probably school most of you in more than just golf, anyway.

5. Aree Song

After developing as one of the most promising young talents on the LPGA, the stress of competition got to Song at an early age. Since joining in 2003, she has struggled to make a name for herself among the aces on the tour. That’s it. It’s kind of sad, but her recent performances suggest a renaissance is possible.

4. Jennifer Song

Having just joined the LPGA this year, it’s a little early to gauge her performance, but at 21, it’s safe to say that the future is looking bright, having bailed on USC to get after that sweet, sweet cheddar.

3. Sun Young Yoo”

She is known as the “course clown” on the LPGA by the other South Koreans. I think that means she has a squirting flower on her shirt at all times. Or she’s got a good sense of humor. Hopefully both.

2. Grace Park

Perhaps the most decorated (and possibly hottest) golfer on this list, Park, at 32, has scored 6 LPGA victories. She’s not the “course clown,” but being professional has its perks.

1. Jin Joo Hong

Born in Seoul, she has scored only one LPGA victory, but tops out annually on the TPS board of hotness. Which has no prize money, but comes with a very nice trophy that we stole from a Little League team. Yeah, that’s right “Red Rangers!” We got your trophy! What you gonna do about it, you dumb little kids?

Tiger Woods has a new woman in his life, but unlike the many others that have been unveiled over the course of the past year, this one is actually a legitimate girlfriend, rather than an over-priced sex partner.

Alyse Lahti Johnston, a 22-year-old student at Northwood University’s West Palm Beach campus, has recently been identified as Tiger Woods’ new girlfriend, although she would prefer to characterize their relationship as something other than a serious one.

When asked about their relationship, a friend and former classmate of Alyse said the following:

“She sent a BBM to a mutual friend of ours saying she didn’t consider herself Tiger’s girlfriend.  They were just having a good time hooking up…(Alyse) is a really nice girl, smart and super friendly.  And she’s also a bit of a wild child.  She definitely likes to have fun.”

Alyse is the daughter of an executive at IMG, the sports agency currently representing Woods.  She has also expressed an interest in playing on the LPGA Tour, and was introduced to Tiger through her private golf coach.  The two have been together ever since, and one can only imagine that Woods has provided her with some tips of his own on how to “find the hole in less strokes.”

Hat Tip – [Radar Online]

Tiger Woods

He was busy demonstrating the latter during the Tavistock Cup this week as a camera from the Golf Network picked up the sound of Woods releasing gas prior to a Graeme McDowell tee-shot.  The fart can be heard at the 0:09 mark, at which point you can see Tiger and his caddy, Steve Williams, struggle to hold in their laughter until after McDowell’s shot.

The commentator refers to the fart as a “spectator noise,” but we all know better.  After all, you can’t tell me Tiger and Williams were laughing like that because of a “spectator noise.”

I hope David Feherty was around to hear this one.  I guess this makes the score David 1, Tiger 1.  Ball’s in your court now Feherty.

St. Andrews is the type of course that can force even the best of golfers to make a rather unconventional shot at times, and that is the exact position Jimenez found himself in during his second-to-last hole of the third round on Saturday.  A treacherous approach shot would leave his ball up against the stone wall next to the green.  That left Jimenez with little options, but he made the most of it by chipping the ball off the wall and onto the green.

Jimenez would end up with a double-bogey six on the par 4 17th, but it may very well have been one of the greatest double-bogeys ever recorded.  As for the greatest bank shot ever made, I’d say that still belongs to Leif Olson for his hole-in-one at the 2009 Canadian Open.

Hat Tip – [Devil Ball]

Tiger Woods has had no problem finding his fair share of “enjoyable holes” throughout the years, and it may be fair to assume that this is one of them.  It even has a trophy modeled after it!

So what would be the best plan of attack for this par 4?  I would think you would want to land your drive somewhere high on the shaft along the right hand side, leaving yourself a good look at the top of the head for your second shot.  If you can do that, then you should be within striking distance of the urethra hole for a birdie.

I’m guessing they only allow stroke play on this hole.

Rachel, who has been described as a 34-year-old party girl, has been know for her tendency to date married celebrities.  It is believed that the two have spent time together in New York, Las Vegas and Australia, where Tiger was recently playing in the Australian Masters.  Reporters from the Enquirer approached Rachel at the Crown Towers Hotel in Melbourne, where Tiger was also staying for the weekend.  When asked if she was there to meet with Woods, she denied the claim, stating that she was in town with her boyfriend for business reasons.  She later admitted that the story about her boyfriend was false, and confessed that she had met Tiger an two separate occasions.

Although this does not mean that the accusations are true, you can expect the word to begin spreading like wildfire.  However, we have to question the validity of this story, especially when considering Tiger’s current wife.  I mean, seriously, who downgrades like that in an affair?  It is bad enough when you decide to cheat, but at least when you are upgrading your stock, it seems somewhat reasonable (not that I am condoning extramartial affairs, or cheating of any kind).

This seems like the type of story that would make Tiger snap.  We have seen it before.  Get ready to see it again.

Hat Tip – [SportsByBrooks] (check them out for more info on Rachel)