ARDMORE, Pa. -- There was at least one wiseguy waiting on more than a few of the holes. Despite that, Sergio Garcias charm offensive was mostly well received by the galleries during the opening round of the U.S. Open. Some three weeks ago, in the midst of a hissing match with Tiger Woods, the Spaniard made a racially tinged remark about inviting his rival over for dinner and serving fried chicken. Widely criticized at the time, Garcia has apologized to Woods both privately and publicly. Yet there were some lingering questions about how hed be received at Merion Golf Club this week by a sometimes-tough Philadelphia sports crowd. "There were a couple here and there, but there was -- I felt the people were very nice for the whole day. I think that almost all of them were behind me," Garcia said afterward, "and that was nice to see." The same unfortunately, couldnt be said for Garcias golf game. He shot a 3-over-par 73 Thursday, and that after recovering from a double-bogey, quadruple-bogey stumble at Nos. 14 and 15, where Garcia hooked both of his tee shots out of bounds. "The U.S. Open doesnt give you much room," he said, then conceded the margin for error at 14 and 15 wasnt his problem. "The out of bounds is close, but if you hit a bad shot, even if its far away, youre going to find it. ... I guess I was just making my week a little bit tougher," he added. "But I tried to battle as much as I could coming in." Garcia teed off alongside Padraig Harrington and Stewart Cink amid cheers and a few scattered boos on the 11th hole at 7:44 a.m., and was cruising until the 14th. No sooner had his tee shot flown the coup at that hole than heavy rains came down and caused a 3 1/2-hour delay. Garcia described his return this way: "Hit another 3-wood, 7-iron to about 16 feet and managed to two-putt for par. "Sorry," he added quickly, to some laughter. "Par with the second ball." The delay may have given the occasional hecklers around the course a chance to down a few beers and screw up their courage. As Garcia reached the first green, where he had an 8-footer for birdie, a fan holding a beer yelled, "Hey, head case! Lets see you blow it 10 feet by." Instead, Garcia drained the putt for birdie, then made eagle at the par-5 second hole with a big drive, another 3-wood to 16 feet and made that putt as well. That left him at 4-over. "But then I hit a couple of bad shots," Garcia said. "So I dont know. It was a pretty flat round for most of the day." Not for everyone, though. As Garcia started down the No. 5 fairway, a fan lining the ropes yelled, "I ate the bones!" -- the punch line from a new round of commercials for KFC, the fast-food chain formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken. Yet just another 100 yards, as Garcia passed by, another fan said, "I hate Tiger, too!" On and on it went at nearly all of the closing holes. Many fans cheered and a few expressed loud support for Garcia, only to have someone yell something like "Winner, winner, chicken dinner!" as one did standing on a patio of a pricey home alongside the sixth fairway. The wear and tear of a long day finally seemed to show on Garcia on the par-3 ninth, his next-to-last hole. When his tee shot there fluttered off to the right and into a greenside bunker, his shoulders slumped and he walked across the tee box dragging his club behind him like a broom. Yet he hit a terrific wedge into No. 10 that bounced twice and slammed on the brakes just two feet from the hole for birdie. If only his efforts to make up with Woods had gone that smoothly. Garcia walked over to where his rival was practicing on the range Monday and offered his hand. The two shook, and briefly exchanged a few words. Garcia also left a note in Woods locker. Asked if there was a response, he said simply, "No. I havent really seen him." Cheap Adidas Shoes Online . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. Cheap Adidas China Wholesale . What general manager Dave Nonis called "short and productive" negotiations ended with Kessel signing a US$64-million, eight-year contract on Tuesday. http://www.clearanceadidas.com/ . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. Adidas Shoes Clearance Sale . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. "Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that. Adidas Shoes Clearance .C. at the helm of the top team in the Eastern Conference. His tenure as the GM in Vancouver was all too brief. Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later. ARCADIA, Calif. -- As a championship event, the 2016 Breeders Cup delivered, and especially in tremendous renewals of the Classic and Distaff. But while there is some important stakes racing left this year, mainly on Thanksgiving weekend, most of this years Eclipse Award divisions were decided by the time official went up on the tote board following Saturdays Classic.Lets take a look at the 10 equine Eclipse Award divisions on the flat, and the impact this Breeders Cup had on them, with a brief comment on Horse of the Year honors at the end:Older Dirt Male: California Chrome had this title wrapped up months ago with a compelling body of work highlighted by powerful victories in the Dubai World Cup and Pacific Classic. His narrow loss in Saturdays Classic, without any excuse, by the way, will have no bearing on him winning this divisional championship in a landslide.Older Dirt Female: Beholder might have temporarily ceded leadership in this division when Stellar Wind beat her for a second time in the Zenyatta after first edging her in the Clement L. Hirsch, but Beholder wrested it back Friday with her gutsy win in the Distaff. Taking nothing away from Songbird, who was gallant in narrow defeat in the Distaff after setting the pace, but the Distaff pace never really developed the way it figured to do so. In fact, the pace in the Distaff was downright moderate. Beholder ran better than her tiny win margin would suggest because she overcame a setup that wasnt entirely favorable. So Beholder will get what will be her fourth Eclipse Award, all earned in different years, and that is quite a feat.3-Year-Old Male: It would have been impossible to imagine a colt who hadnt even started in a stakes race on Aug. 26 could win this championship. But on Aug. 27, Arrogate delivered an explosive performance winning the Travers Stakes, a performance so exceptional that it suddenly put him in the conversation with Nyquist and Exaggerator for divisional honors. And when Nyquist proved unable to follow up on his strong Kentucky Derby win, apparently being cooked for good in a senseless Preakness speed duel, and when Exaggerator proved that his big wins this year were entirely functions of wet tracks and perfect pace setups, the path for Arrogate became more clear. He had to win the Classic to close the deal, which he did in a performance just as impressive as his Travers, but for a different reason. To run down a loose-on-the-lead monster like California Chrome is incredible stuff. Arrogate is hands down the champion 3-year-old male, and I cant wait to see what he does next year.3-Year-Old Female: When she romped in the Cotillion on Oct. 1, Songbird obliterated any potential scenario that could have denied her another divisional championship this year. But her game effort in the Distaff while racing near an inside that some thought might not have been the best part of the Santa Anita main track on Friday only enhanced the case that she should be a unanimous champion. Really, shame on any Eclipse Award voter who does not have her on top of their ballot.2-Year-Old Male: Without question, Classic Empire clinched this title by virtue of his determined victory in what felt like a very strongly run Juvenile. How strongly run was the Juvenile? Well, even after acknowledging that the Juvenile Fillies run earlier on Saturdays card was a weak renewal, the time of the Juvenile was faster by 2.52 seconds, which is an enormous gap. Classic Empires resume, which also includes a victory in the Grade 1 Breeders Futurity and Grade 3 Bashford Manor, and which has a solitary blemish when he wheeled after the start of the Hopeful, is considerably stronger than any of his contemporaries. However, Not This Time ran a terrific race finishing second in the Juvenile, and while he has no championship claim over Classic Empire, the two might have kindled in the Juvenile what could become a delicious rivalry.2-Year-Old Female: At first glance, you might think Champagne Rooms $69.20 upset in what was a slow Juvenile Fillies just confused further what was already an unsettled division. And sure, going forward from this race, you would probably want Juvenile Fillies runner-up Valadorna, who was coming off just a maiden win, or American Gal, who had an even more absurd trip than she figured to get from the 12 hole.ddddddddddddBut by winning the big one, and the Grade 2 Sorrento in August, Champagne Room simply has better credentials than anyone else in her division, and it will take something out of the box for anyone to displace her from the top by seasons end.Male Turf: This is one division where I doubt the corresponding Breeders Cup race will have a meaningful impact on the Eclipse Award vote. Highland Reel was a daylight winner of the Turf, beating Flintshire by 1-3/4 lengths. But everyone who watched the race (which I really hope means everyone who will vote in the Eclipse Awards) knows that Highland Reel absolutely walked on the lead in the early stages. And I mean walked, and that brings into question the conclusiveness of the result. When you couple that with the fact that this was Highland Reels only U.S. start of the year, well, I think the award should and will go to Flintshire. Victories in the Grade 1 Manhattan, Grade 1 Sword Dancer, and Grade 2 Bowling Green, and his seconds in the Turf and in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic give Flintshire a body of work that Highland Reels base on balls, somewhat fluky Turf cant equal.Female Turf: The scenario was somewhat clear here. Lady Eli had to do something special winning the Filly and Mare Turf, and Tepin had to do nothing against males in the Mile, for Lady Eli to have a shot to carry the vote. Lady Eli ran very well in the Filly and Mare Turf, but was nailed late. Tepin did a lot more than nothing in the Mile, finishing a rallying second to Tourist, beaten only a half-length. Tepins performance in the Mile was more than enough to cap a body of work on the year that included six group or graded stakes victories, led, of course, by her historic Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot.Male Sprinter: The infected cut that caused Lord Nelson to be scratched from the Sprint (he was also retired) might prove very costly in terms of this divisional title. In Lord Nelsons absence, the 3-year-old colt Drefong posted a clear-cut victory in the Sprint that was impressive because he withstood being inside of severe pace pressure, which is never a good place to be. The Sprint was Drefongs second Grade 1 victory (he won the Kings Bishop in his prior start) and second stakes win of any sort in a perfect 4-for-4 season. It should be noted that Lord Nelson, who was the divisions leader before the Breeders Cup, collected three Grade 1 wins this year. But fair or not, Breeders Cup events obviously carry importance well beyond typical Grade 1 races, and Drefong is now the likely male sprint champion.Female Sprinter: This division might leave you feeling cold with the way no one in it really stepped up. And Finest City might not fit your ideal profile of an Eclipse Award winner with just two wins in eight starts this year. But thats what the Filly and Mare Sprint is for, to sort these matters out when we need some guidance. Finest Citys Filly and Mare Sprint victory might have been an upset, but it came in the divisions biggest race, and at least she has a Grade 2 sprint victory earlier in the season in the Great Lady M Stakes to make you feel better about the fact that her title argument is simply better than any of her division mates.Horse of the Year: My feeling is, instead of making a quick decision between the only two real candidates for this honor - Arrogate and California Chrome - it would be best to let the Breeders Cup dust settle and then think about it. California Chromes body of work this year is compelling, and is simply better than Arrogates cumulative record. However, Arrogate proved that, at least on Saturday, he was better than California Chrome. I mean, California Chrome had everything his own way in the Classic, so much so that jockey Victor Espinoza couldnt stop looking around behind him, and Arrogate still came and beat him. That was big man stuff. So while respect for body of work is very important, it shouldnt deny a possibly superior horse our games most important year-end championship. We have to let this one simmer for a while. cheap falcons jerseyscheap ravens jerseyscheap bills jerseyscheap bears jerseyscheap bengals jerseyscheap cowboys jerseyscheap lions jerseyscheap texans jerseyscheap colts jerseyscheap jaguars jerseyscheap chiefs jerseyscheap rams jerseyscheap dolphins jerseyscheap vikings jerseyscheap saints jerseyscheap giants jerseyscheap jets jerseyscheap eagles jerseyscheap steelers jerseyscheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '