Weekend Wake Up: Defense Carries Tebow, Cards Fold Early, USMNT Claims Cup Berth, U.S. On Pace in Presidents Cup

Grinding Gators. Tim Tebow started and played every snap for Florida at LSU, but apart from a couple of escapes in the pocket, he didn't resemble the southpaw rhino fans have come to expect. But the Gators' defense more than made up for that, holding LSU to just 162 total yards in a 13-3 win that left Death Valley funereal and made Les Miles apoplectic.

Cards Swept Away. Even returning to St. Louis couldn't help the Cardinals do anything more than whimper. The Dodgers won Game 3 of the NLDS 5-1, finishing the Cards briskly and brusquely. The Dodgers' bullpen gave up two runs in three games, and neither Albert Pujols (just three hits) or Matt Holliday (an ugly .231 OBP) could get anything going for the Redbirds.

U-S-A! U-S-M-N-T! Clinching the United States' sixth consecutive World Cup berth was never going to be easy. But the U.S. Men's National Team's 3-2 win in Honduras was a comeback (Honduras scored first), a redemption (Conor Casey, a national team player since early this decade, scored his first two international goals in a brace to rally back), and a down-the-stretch nail-biter (Honduras had a tying penalty kick go over the bar in the 85th minute). Too bad it was only on closed circuit TV in the States, while Mark Cuban and Peter King could squabble over the UFL's presence.

U-S-A! RICH GOLF-ERS! The Presidents Cup enters its third day with the U.S. team leading the International squad 12½-9½. It's really not worth caring about except for Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker going undefeated as a partnership for the first time in the Cup's history.

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