Pictured: President Barack Obama and Tiger Woods practicing for next season's "Dancing With The Stars."

As part of an interview with Fox News, Obama was asked about Woods' plans to return to golf during next month's Masters. (Yes, because that's so much more important than war or health care reform. Hey, we know our place in the national spectrum of importance.)

Anyway, Obama responded, "I think that Tiger has acknowledged that he betrayed his family; that is a personal issue that he has got to work out. I hope they've worked it out, and I am sure he is still going to be a terrific golfer."

Well said. No word on whether Obama appreciated the alien-hunting portrayal of himself in Wednesday night's South Park, however.

Wednesday was St. Patrick's Day, and what better day for an Irishman to wind up at the White House?

Padraig Harrington, everybody's favorite major-winning Irish fellow -- at least until Rory McIlroy starts stacking up green jackets and Claret jugs -- was part of a huge contingent of Irishmen and -women invited to the White House for a huge St. Patrick's Day celebration. And unlike the goings-on at your local Paddy's Pub, I'm predicting it didn't end with a bunch of amateur drunks vomiting in an alley off Pennsylvania Avenue.

Anyway, Harrington jetted from Florida up to D.C. and back for the affair, going wheels-up about 1:30 for the 6:00 p.m. shindig, then back in Florida by just after midnight. And fortunately, Harrington had an afternoon tee time for Thursday's first round of the Transitions.

All that, and the only drawback? He didn't actually get to meet the president. Obama worked the rope line, and somehow he and Harrington never quite connected. Shame, too, because Harrington had

First-round upsets are all the rage these days, and we've got a huge one in the making. No, don't worry; Kentucky and Kansas haven't fallen out of the NCAA mix yet. Over at Esquire, they're running the Sexiest Woman Alive 64-woman bracket, and our own Natalie Gulbis is a No. 1 seed. Appropriate, right? Trouble is, Ms. Gulbis has been matched up against none other than cutie-pie USC coach Lane Kiffin. And apparently a lot of people think the apple-cheeked job-hopper is a sexy woman, because he's walloping her in the polls right now.

Horror! Travesty! Comedy!

Natalie took to her Twitter page to plead her case -- "So how is Lane Kiffin beating me in sexiest woman alive on Esquire.com? Really? This can not be good." -- but so far, to no avail. Kiffin even responded: "hey @natalie_gulbis I apologize for this early lead; please finish strong like a 1 seed should. tell evry1 u know 2 vote for u ASAP!!!!!"

If you'd like to participate and prevent a horrific miscarriage of justice, click here

We're at the End of Days with this whole Tiger Woods business. It's now like politics or religion -- your opinion, whatever it may be, is completely calcified and won't change no matter what the new evidence. Either you think he's a golfer who ought to be left alone, or he's a cheater who deserves scorn. Either you think his family problems should be off-limits, or you think his transgressions go beyond his personal life. Nobody's going to let any new light in, so why not take a step back and mock the absurdity of the entire overblown affair?

Enter the geniuses at South Park. Here's their take on what really happened behind the doors at Windermere. A warning: there's NSFW (bleeped) language, violence, depravity and other elements you don't want kids to see, so you young'uns reading this need to click on over to Taylor Swift or something. Fair warning? Fair warning. Now, check this out:

Gotta love Elin's Swedish Chef accent. Wonder what the EA Sports folks are thinking about this.

There are few moments of perfection in golf, few moments where the stars line up just right and everything fits perfectly. Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached one of those moments.

Behold the awesome synergy that is John Daly Pizza.

This is flat-out perfect, from the slogan ("Grip It & Eat It") to the ingredients (you'll note that the pizza includes "Dough," "Sauce," and "Cheese") to Daly's pants, which look like he's wearing a Supreme Pizza on his legs.

Best of luck -- seriously -- to Daly with this new endeavor. Though it's worth noting that putting Daly in charge of pizza is like asking Tiger Woods to chaperone a busload of Tropicana wet t-shirt contestants. The temptations are strong! Just remember, John -- don't get high on your own supply.

(Visor tip: Golfweek)

Welcome to Playing the Field, where we survey the key players and stories at each tournament, giving you the guys to watch and the stories to know. Today, we're off to Innisbrook for the Transitions Championship. And here's who we'll be watching:

Retief Goosen: Like Ernie Els last week, Goosen was an early-2000s phenom who rescued his game with a big win at the Transitions last year. Can he steady himself well enough to defend his title?

Luke Donald: MIT revealed earlier this week that Donald is the most lethal putter on tour, carving an extra stroke off his game every round just by his putting alone. Will he be able to live off that this week?

Vijay Singh: 2008 sems like a long, long way away for Vijay, who hasn't dominated the way he did in the second half of that year. Injuries and age have taken their toll, but you get the sense the Big Fijian could break loose at any time.

Stewart Cink: We haven't heard a lot from Cink since his British Open win over Tom Watson -- at least, not on

Ernie Els is the PGA Tour's reigning champion-of-the-week thanks to his powerful performance in this past weekend's CA Championship. It was a welcome return to form for The Big Easy, long known as one of the smoothest and most respected players in golf. And outside of Charl Schwartzel's household, I can't imagine anybody was upset to see him win. (And maybe not even there; Els was a childhood hero of Schwartzel.)

As PA Sports notes, the last time Els won at Doral, he went on to take the British Open. That was waaaaay back in 2002. And while much has changed in golf since then, not enough has changed that we can't immediately discount Els' chances at St. Andrews this summer.

It's not out of the question. Els has placed in the top 10 of the last two majors, and he's got eight top 10s in his last 10 British Opens. All but left for dead, career-wise, Els could very well be on the edge of a new resurgence. Obviously, let's not jinx it just yet, but a healthy, competitive Els would be a fine

So you say you're excited about this year's Masters? Liking the chance to see ol' Tiger Woods back on the course, sticking it to his critics and his competition? What if I told you it was about to get even more awesome! How much more? THREE TIMES MORE! Pumped up now, are ya?

That's right. For the first time ever, the Masters will be broadcast in glorious 3D -- provided, of course, that you have a 3D television or computer capable of receiving it. Augusta National will have multiple cameras set up all over the course, primarily in the back nine, and will provide an Avatar-esque immersive experience, most likely without the threat of taking a Na'vi arrow to the chest.

"Innovation has always been part of Masters tradition," Augusta National President Billy Payne said in a statement. "Utilizing this technology marks another important milestone in allowing our at-home patrons to better experience the beauty of our course and excitement of our Tournament. We consider ourselves fortunate to