James Harden made the most disrespectful play in NBA history â€" and we can’t stop watching

The courses the PGA TOUR has visited the last two weeks have been absolute gems and the golf played on them, at least in some cases — think Si Woo Kim on Sunday at THE PLAYERS Championship — was nothing short of genius. And those who wanted a break from tightly mown fairways and coveted a different kind of gleaming white sand, the Atlantic Ocean loomed large, located less than a mile from both TPC Sawgrass and Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington, North Carolina. Ian Poulter was on Florida’s first coast Sunday morning, in fact, looking for shells and shark’s teeth with his four children. It was a great way to pass the time before his 2:10 p.m. tee time at THE PLAYERS where he made a spirited bid before tying for second. All of which got me thinking. What goes best with sunscreen, sand castles and flip-flops? That’s right, a good book. So here are some beach reads for you to pick up at your local library – with one caveat. While they’re all about golf and golfers, none are instructional. Remember, you are supposed to be soaking up the sun and having fun on the shore. Hopefully you’ll find at least one you enjoy. 18 Holes with Bing: Golf, Life, and Lessons from Dad by Nathaniel Crosby and John Strege This is a quick and enjoyable read about one of the world’s great entertainers and most fervent golfers. His son, Nathaniel, offers behind-the-scene looks at Bing and his famous friends, a diverse group that included, among others, comedians Bob Hope and Phil Silvers, actors James Garner and George C. Scott, President John F. Kennedy and the Duke of Windsor and legendary golfers Ben Hogan, Jackie Burke Jr., Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. Beyond the A-List revelations, though, Nathaniel, who won the U.S. Amateur four years after his father died, details how his father launched and nurtured the tournament now known as the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and showcases their shared love of the game.   The Range Bucket List: The Golf Adventure of a Lifetime by James Dodson When the author was 13, he put together a list of things he wanted to do in golf. When he discovered his teenage musing in a trunk several years ago, Dodson decided to expand the list and eventually turned it into this book of essays. (Among the 13-year-old’s list already checked off? Living in Pinehurst, North Carolina and getting new clubs.) He gives the reader insight into the likes of Donald Trump before he became President and writer John Updike, as well as his long-time friend Arnold Palmer, with whom Dodson wrote “A Golfer’s Life.” He even writes about taking 13 strokes on a hole at St. Andrews – an “accomplishment” to which many of us can relate.  Golf’s Iron Horse: The Astonishing, Record-Breaking Life of Ralph Kennedy by John Sabino The subject of this book, released in February, is one of the game’s more interesting – albeit under-the-radar — characters. (He’s also the genesis of the only article about golf ever published in National Geographic.) Ralph Kennedy, who was a founding member of Winged Foot, played golf in all but two of the 50 states, nine Canadian provinces and more than 12 countries around the world. In over four decades, he teed it up at more than 3,100 courses and 8,500 times. Care to try to beat his record? Forget the beach, then. Arnie: The Life of Arnold Palmer by Tom Callahan Dozens of books have been written about the legendary golfer, and everyone probably has his or her favorite. This is the most recent, released in April, and given Palmer’s death last fall, it seemed only fitting to include on this list. Callahan, the noted Washington Post columnist, was a friend of Palmer’s for more than four decades and chronicled every phase of his career. At 352 pages, this book won’t be one of the quickest beach reads but for anyone who loved Palmer, it will be rewarding. Tommy’s Honour: The Extraordinary Story of Golf’s Founding Father and Son by Kevin Cook I am still eagerly waiting for the movie, which was released in April here in the United States, to come to my hometown. In the meantime, this book will shed some light on the two men who won eight of the first 12 Open Championships, including four in a row by Young Tom before his untimely death. Not only does the book explore the father-son relationship and the game both men love, it explains the social dynamics of the era. There is a bit of a love story, as well. Director Jason Connery, Sean’s son, told me that as soon as he read the book he knew he wanted to turn it into a movie. That’s a pretty good endorsement, don’t you think?

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SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda – Of the few things in golf that cannot be debated, the ageless adage that “it’s an outdoor game” remains at the top of a very short list. RELATED: Full leaderboard | ‘Brutal’ conditions lead to wild day Acceptance of that has, in turn, always opened the door to reminders that Mother Nature is in charge, that “rub of the green” needs to be part of the process, and that you are defenseless against the unpredictable ways of weather. Fair enough, all of that, but here’s a disclaimer: You can take measures to be proactive against extreme weather and that’s why Nick Watney was among a steady parade of players who offered good cheer to the PGA TOUR rules and competitions folks. “I think they did a really nice job of setting the course up to where it was playable with this much wind,” said Watney, who teed off at 8:08 in the fourth pairing at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course and competed when the weather was at its worst. Wind blew steadily at about 25 m.p.h. and gusted up to 35-to-40, rain came down at various points, sometimes in sheets, and the word every rules official dreads – oscillating – was very much in play. Ricky Barnes certainly was thinking about that. After all, he has played at Pebble Beach and St. Andrews when play came to a halt, despite brilliant sunshine, because balls were moving on the green. Yet with wind blowing hats off players’ heads and efforts to even hold an umbrella proving futile, officials never had to blow the air horn. Credit the decision to keep green speeds to “around 10,” said PGA Tour rules official John Mutch, who got here Sunday and has seen a series of accurate forecasts. “I didn’t have a ball move,” said Barnes. “It was difficult, but it was playable.” The decision to make one of the shorter courses on the PGA TOUR (Port Royal is 6,828 yards) even shorter focused on the demanding par 3s. Yardage was trimmed from each (Nos. 3, 8, 13, 16) and when Watney talked of “shots that are scary” at Port Royal, he circled 16. There, both tee and green hang out over the ocean. “Playing that hole at 235 with that sort of wind in your chops, that wouldn’t have been right,” said Mutch, who set it up at 165. Ditto No. 13, which was 195 yards downhill into wind, but not the 235 it could have been. “But they still gave you all you wanted,” said Mutch, and the numbers supported him. The 13th and 16th played over par and were ranked third- and second-most difficult. Which isn’t to say that Port Royal won’t grow a little bit overnight and into the weekend. “Friday, it will be a little more sporty,” said Mutch. “We have a better forecast.”

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GREENSBORO, N.C. – As the leaders warmed up before the third round of the Wyndham Championship at the steamy Sedgefield Country Club, Mike Weir worked on his game with a green stretchy band around his torso and left arm. He’d shot a third-round 68 to get to 6 under, which was well back but most likely will make the 54-hole cut. Weir, 49 and awaiting his 50th birthday and PGA TOUR Champions eligibility next May, has been working hard on his game, but not getting much out of it. This season has seen him splitting time between the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA TOUR, where he missed the cut by one at the Masters Tournament, RBC Canadian Open, and Rocket Mortgage Classic. “I’ve missed the cut by one like eight times this year,� said Weir, who is 249th in the FedExCup. He laughed. “It’s the silliest thing. I’m playing fine. I’ve been feeling really good about my game since I started working with Mark Blackburn about a year ago.� Blackburn is an Englishman who has been recognized by Golf Magazine, Golf Digest and others as one of the top instructors in America. His Blackburn Golf Academy is located in Birmingham, Alabama, and in addition to Weir he has coached several other TOUR pros. Just as importantly, Weir is finally pain-free. “I got a new trainer,� he said, “and that’s really helped me gain my mobility again. I had so many back issues and neck issues for so long, I was just immobile, really. I wasn’t able to turn.� Weir has made 330 feet of putts over the first three rounds at the Wyndham, propelling him to his first made cut since he finished T58 at the Charles Schwab Challenge in May. When he was healthy, Weir was one of the game’s most potent point-to-point players. His accuracy and wedge game, plus a nerveless putting stroke, earned him eight TOUR wins, biggest among them the 2003 Masters Tournament. He beat Tiger Woods in an epic singles match at the 2007 Presidents Cup in Montreal, and won the Fry’s Electronics Open less than a month later. Injuries, though, wreaked havoc, and he hasn’t won since. Now, a dozen years later, he’s looking at a new lease on life on PGA TOUR Champions. “I think I’ll be competitive,� Weir said. “I feel good and I still have good enough length for out there. I’m excited. It’s invigorated me this last year to get ready for that. Every guy I’ve talked to, they’re like, ‘Mike, you’ve got to keep playing. If you take time off and go out there, you’re going to get lapped. You’ve got to stay sharp.’ So, that’s what I’ve tried to do.�

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