Texas Children's Houston Open

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The Loop

5 things to talk about with your buddies on the course this weekend

December 12, 2014

From sports to TV to politics (OK, so mostly the first two), we offer five hot topics that are sure to liven up your round of golf:

1. The Royals meet The King: Prince William and Kate Middleton attended an NBA game -- well, if you count arriving midway through the third quarter as attending an NBA game -- and met Lebron "King" James after. It was a cute story until everyone started making a big deal about LeBron potentially "breaking protocol" by putting his arm around Kate to pose for a picture. Calm down, people. They're just people, too.

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2. Johnny Football: Johnny Manziel will make his much-anticipated first NFL start when the Cleveland Browns host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. Manziel is replacing quarterback Brian Hoyer, who after a good start to the season has been playing like, well, Brian Hoyer of late. Good luck, Johnny. We don't want rumors of a Golf Digest cover jinx to start circulating.

3. Roger Goodell: Imagine you make a big mistake. Then you try to cover up that big mistake. Then you lie about trying to cover up that big mistake. Then you get caught lying, but don't face any repercussions. And you keep your job. A job that paid you $44 MILLION last year. Imagine?

4. The Golden Globes: This year's nominees were announced on Thursday and we're fairly happy about them. HBO's "True Detective" is in the "TV movie or miniseries" category so it -- and Matthew McConaughey -- will sweep everything and Showtime's "The Affair" was nominated for best drama while co-star Dominic West (McNulty from "The Wire"!) is up for the best actor award. Great news, but no "Veep" for best comedy? What a joke.

5. MLB winter meetings: There's plenty to talk about from the annual get together in San Diego. Did the Cubs overpay for Jon Lester? Will the flurry of moves by the Dodgers and Red Sox pay off? Will the Yankees sign Max Scherzer? Will the Mets make any moves of real significance? OK, scratch that last question. Even the Royals -- the people and the baseball team -- spend more of their own money than the Mets.