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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." Hydro Flask Dop . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. Hydro Flask Rietje .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. http://www.hydroflaskkorting.com/hydro-flask-coffee.html . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014. Hydro Flask Kinder . Francis told several hundred members of the European Olympic Committees that when sport "is considered only in economic terms and consequently for victory at every cost . Hydro Flask Kopen . "Theyve both been real good," said Babcock. "Havent changed our minds." A decision has seemingly been made - Sundays Group B-deciding tilt against Finland ahead - but it could not have been an easy one. Price opened the tournament with a sturdy 19-save performance against the Norwegians, yielding just one goal. HOUSTON -- Greg Ward Jr. threw for a career-high 389 yards and accounted for five touchdowns in just more than three quarters to help sixth-ranked Houston beat Connecticut 42-14 on Thursday night.The victory was a bit of redemption for the Cougars, whose only loss last season came in a 20-17 defeat by the Huskies when they were 10-0.Ward didnt start that game because of an ankle injury, and there was a scary moment early in the second quarter when he took a hard hit in the midsection by Junior Joseph on a flea-flicker and had to leave the game.But he missed just one play before returning and showed no ill effects from the blow, leading the Cougars (5-0, 2-0 American) on three more touchdown drives in the half to leave Houston up 28-7 at halftime.Ward and Joseph got in each others faces after another hit by the linebacker on a touchdown throw by Ward later in the second quarter, and it earned Joseph an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.Ward had touchdown runs of 30 and 10 yards and threw scoring passes of 3, 15 and 4 yards. He was replaced by Kyle Postma with 12 minutes remaining.Linell Bonner had a highlight-reel play when he stretched out to grab a reception with one hand for a touchdown that pushed Houstons lead to 42-7 in the third quarter. He fiinished with 12 receptions for 159 yards -- both career highs.ddddddddddddNoel Thomas had a career-high 135 yards receiving and a touchdown for Connecticut (2-3, 0-2), and Bryant Shirreffs threw for 239 yards and ran for a TD.The Cougars werent slowed by playing without three starters on Thursday. Running back Duke Catalon and linebacker Tyus Bowser both missed the game with head injuries and coach Tom Herman sat linebacker Matthew Adams for reasons the team said Herman would address after the game.THE TAKEAWAYCONNECTICUT: The Huskies didnt commit any turnovers after being plagued by them in recent weeks, but they were simply overmatched by the Cougars on both sides of the ball.HOUSTON: The Cougars continued the dominance theyve shown all season, having no trouble putting away the Huskies after last years misstep. With Ward leading the offense and a swarming defense which finished with four sacks, its hard to imagine that anyone has much of a chance to beat the Cougars before their Nov. 17 showdown with No. 3 Louisville,UP NEXTCONNECTICUT: The Huskies host Cincinnati on Oct. 8.HOUSTON: The Cougars visit Navy on Oct. 8. ' ' '