Weekend primer: Labor-intensive

Track and field Continental Cup: Efforts at friendship. When Andrew Gold wrote the theme song to The Golden Girls, "Thank You for Being a Friend," he likely wasn't envisioning the surprising wedge of icy air that surfaced between Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay this week. However, he would likely be pleased with what he'd see at this weekend's Continental Cup in Croatia. There, Gay will run the 4x100m relay as part of the Americas Team, a collection of runners from multiple nations in the Americas region joining together to run really fast. And when you boil it down, fast relay times are really what friendship is all about.

Beach volleyball, Hahana Beach: Welcome back Kerri. The sand of Cincinnati will be notable for two primary reasons this weekend: 1) We don't normally think about the fact that Ohio actually has beaches; 2) a certain two-time Olympic champion makes her return to competition on the shores of Southwest Ohio. Now a proud mother of two - and wife of a recent first-time FIVB winner - Kerri Walsh is back on the beach in Ohio this weekend, where she could end up facing off against Misty May-Treanor. Says Walsh of a matchup with her former (and potentially future) teammate, "I know it would be lovely." Words the Golden Girls theme could be proud of.

FIBA Basketball Worlds: And then there were 16. Thanks to its thus-far undefeated record (and only occasionally inspired play), Coach K's Team USA earned a grand total of three days off from Friday through Sunday. The Americans now find themselves in a must-play-reasonably-well or go home situation against Angola on Monday. Meanwhile, Saturday sees reigning world champion Spain (sans Pau Gasol, but with brother Marc) attempting to put aside earlier struggles and advance, while Sunday features a thriving host nation that has eschewed the in-house dance team but provided a very impressive show of its own on the court.

Vuelta a Espana: Stormy conditions. Thunder decisively made its way onto the landscape at the 2010 Vuelta on Thursday, and we're not talking about the kind that normally surfaces on Doppler radar. Rather, we're speaking of the nickname for a certain Norwegian sprinter named Thor (Hushovd, that is). This weekend, the forecast calls for more thunder, and by more thunder, we mean mountainous stages. Saturday's numero eight gets particularly mountainous, so think about that and consider feeling guilty while you're sipping libations through a curly straw at the family BBQ and square dance Sunday afternoon. (By the way, thanks for the invite - regrettably, we won't be able to make it.)