Women golfers keep getting younger

It was near impossible not to reflect on the comparisons.

At the ripe old age of 24, there was seasoned pro Michelle Wie, taking command atop the leader board heading into this weekend’s finals of the U.S. Women’s Open in Pinehurst, N.C. And there was adorable Lucy Li, just 11, who displayed two days of admirable match play before falling short of the tourney cut Friday.

Has it really been 11 years since a 13-year-old Wie burst onto the national golf scene, as the youngest player ever to make an LPGA cut? A year later, Wie’s "teen phenom" star burned even brighter playing in the men’s 2004 Sony Open in Hawaii, thanks to a sponsor’s exemption.

There’ll be time aplenty to root for Li as she matures. For now, all eyes are rightly on the Hawaii-born Wie, who continues to impress as she grows older and wiser as a pro.

Join the billions rooting for their teams

Soccer has never been America’s favorite sport, but there’s no denying it’s catching on — and having a winning team in the World Cup certainly helps. Yes, the United States team won its first game in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil on Monday, against Ghana.

On Sunday it will play its second game, against Portugal. It also still has to face Germany, on Thursday, as part of its first-round matches, but if it beats Portugal, the U.S. most certainly will advance to the knockout round, and then things should really get exciting.

The U.S. wasn’t expected to get very far in this World Cup, but already there have been some big surprises, including that the 2010 champ, Spain, has already been knocked out of the running. So stay tuned. USA! USA!