If you thought LA was the place to be this weekend—NBA All-Star festivities, the Genesis Open, avocados that will make you think the crap you're eating on the East Coast isn't even part of the same food group—you were dead wrong. Turns out the hot weekend destination was actually the Minnesota Golf Show, smack dab in the heart of beautiful Minneapolis-in-February.
In addition to approximately six-trillion fix-your-slice Golf Channel infomercial gadgets, an indoor driving range, and a dedicated Golf Lounge where husbands and fathers who just popped out for a gallon of milk three days ago could congregate to watch Tiger IN FREAKING PEACE, there was also an epic $100,000 putting contest which this random dude somehow jarred from 120 cheap carpeted feet away.
So first of all, hats off to this guy, who just won a $75,000 pontoon boat and $25,000 cash (because pontoon boats are as good as currency in Minnesota). You got really damn lucky earned it, buddy. A secondary kudos to the M..

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we believe Bubba Watson’s decision to challenge Tracy McGrady might be the biggest unforced error since that time I ordered the chicken Marsala from an Italian restaurant that touted General Tso’s chicken. Let’s just say that both choices wound up being violently rejected. Good thing none of Bubba’s buddies saw it happen . . . kidding! They were all over him!
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We’re guessing Watson’s wife, Angie, who played in the WNBA, gave him a bit of a ribbing as well. In any event, Bubba bounced back over the weekend to re-emerge as one of the PGA Tour’s All-Stars. Let's discuss a busy week.
WE'RE BUYING
Bubba Watson: Basketball skills aside, what an impressive performance by Bubba, who picked up his first PGA Tour win since claiming the 2016 Genesis Open. It’s crazy to think this two-time Masters champ had fallen to No. 117 in the Official World Ranking. Although, yes, those colored golf ball..

On the right day and right course, you'll break 80. Congratulations. As a 7-handicap, you're in the top 21 percent of male golfers—top 3 percent for females—according to the United States Golf Association. A professional career isn't happening anytime soon, but you should be proud of the level you've attained. Perhaps similar dedication and talent has led you to quasi-mastery in other areas. The problem is, the precision of golf's handicap system isn't encountered anywhere else. So for those who want to know how they compare to others—other than by height—we've described the equivalent of a 7-handicap in the following important life pursuits. Go judge yourself.
SOFTBALL: Teammates optimistic when you're batting with runners in scoring position. You don't strike out. Fielding errors accompanied by appropriate level of gravity and surprise. Can reasonably explain the infield-fly rule.
SKIING/SNOWBOARDING: Covers the terrain of the entire mount..

Allen BerezovskyFor me, the most remarkable thing about the indictment handed down by the Department of Justice last week implicating 13 Russians and their affiliated Internet sabotage organizations was the underlying goal of the operation. The aim wasn't necessarily to get Trump elected—at least not immediately—but more broadly to undermine Americans' faith in their democratic institutions in any way possible. It's hard to say whether they succeeded, or whether the divides they tried to exploit were already in place, but while some of their troll attempts were vaguely clever, a lot seemed kinda stupid. From starting Facebook groups with names like “woke blacks” to paying a Hillary impersonator to ride in a makeshift prison cell during a parade, this wasn't exactly Operation Overlord.
Based on what we know about the Russians—how they flew by the seat of their pants, how they tried to orchestrate the most gaudy public spectacles, and how their ultimate goal was the s..

Bubba Watson considered retirement after an illness kept him from playing golf the way he loves. But Riviera Country Club help him find his creative side again

From Bubba Watson to Augusta National to Tiger Woods, here's every golf-related thing you need to know for the morning of Feb. 19

If you tuned in to see the supposed 8:20 p.m. tip of the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, well, you were left asking “what the hell am I watching right now?” And I'm not talking about either team playing defense. No, what NBA fans witnessed was an abomination of epic proportions, as the game's intro ran about 40 minutes (39 minutes and 59 seconds too long), featuring appearances that no one asked for from Kevin Hart, Rob Riggle and Fergie, who sang one of the worst renditions of the National Anthem since Roseann Barr at that Padres game in 1990.
I'd love to go on a 1,000 word diatribe of my own and tear the intro to shreds, but, as is tradition, Twitter did it way better, properly roasting the comically-bad intro with enough material to sift through for hours. We begin with Kevin hart, who weirdly introduced all the players with cringeworthy joke after cringeworthy joke as we all begged for it to end, but it seemingly never did. Here's a little taste in case you missed ..

Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesIf the only thing Bubba Watson did this week was win the Genesis Open, well that would be impressive all by itself. Particularly given Watson’s two-year mega slump entering the week and his admission that he considered retiring because of his play.
But considering everything else that Bubba took part in during his time in Los Angeles, it’s amazing to think that he had the energy to win a PGA Tour event at all.
Let’s review the week that was for Riviera’s big winner:
It began when Bubba filmed a show with Jay Leno:
https://twitter.com/bubbawatson/status/963109032918577152
But that wasn’t the only celebrity Bubba hung out with. He also caught up with Ellen DeGeneres:
https://twitter.com/bubbawatson/status/964211988996894720
And then there was more TV, when he stopped by the set of “The Big Bang Theory”:
https://twitter.com/bubbawatson/status/963785633524154368
Of course, we read a lot about Bubba taking part in the NBA celebrity All-Star game. Here’s the fr..

Like cooking, golf is about blending the right ingredients. In this five-part video program, Claude Harmon III teaches you the key fundamentals and some shotmaker’s flair from tee to green.

Of course John Daly was wearing American flag golf pants as he made his hole-in-one on Sunday at the PGA Tour Champions' Chubb Classic