Let's hear it for the old guys. Tom Watson, who turns 60 in September, struck a blow Thursday for those who believe age is just a number. He led for most of Thursday's first round of the British Open, and his 5-under 65 puts him in a tie for second place heading into Friday. Staying in contention is a long shot, but his performance did conjure up thoughts of some great performances by older athletes. Here is just a sampling of impressive showings by older athletes.

Jack Nicklaus
Whenever the subject of old guys in sports comes up, Jack Nicklaus' performance at the 1986 Masters is one of the first thoughts. At 46, he became the oldest player to win the tournament when he shot a final-round 7-under 65. But actually, it was another Masters performance that might have been more impressive. In 1998, at age 58, Nicklaus finished at 5-under, including a 68 on Sunday, to finish in a tie for sixth, four shots behind winner Mark O'Meara, who was 41 at the time. Five-under would have been good enough to win or tie for the lead at Augusta 14 times since World War II.

Dara Torres
This, actually, might be the most impressive feat on this list. Competing in a sport dominated by teenagers and those in their early 20s, Dara Torres won five medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics even though she was, at age 33, the oldest member of the American swim team. The best, however, was yet to come. Incredibly, at age 41, Torres won three silver medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, including the 50-meter freestyle when she set an American record she had once set 26 years earlier, when she was only 15.

George Foreman
One of the scariest and most devastating punchers in boxing disappeared from the sport in 1977 but returned in 1987 at age 38. Then in 1994, at age 45, George Foreman fought Michael Moorer for the IBF and WBA heavyweight championships. Moorer dominated for nine rounds as Foreman looked for an opening to throw one big punch. When he found it, Foreman knocked out Moorer and was the heavyweight champ for the first time in 20 years. He went on to win three of his next four fights before retiring for good at age 48.

Nolan Ryan
Nolan Ryan threw seven no-hitters in his career, three more than any other pitcher. The sixth came on June 11, 1990, when he was 43 years old. The last came on May 1, 1991, when he was 44. And those were not the only impressive performances in his later years. In 1993, when he was 46, he hit Robin Ventura of the White Sox with a pitch. Ventura charged the mound. Despite being 20 years older, Ryan proceeded to get Ventura in a headlock and fire several punches that would have made George Foreman proud.

Randy Johnson
From 1900 through 2003, only 14 pitchers threw a perfect game in the majors. The average age of those 14 pitchers was 29 years, 6 months. The oldest was Cy Young at age 37 in 1904. Then came Randy Johnson, the 6-foot-10 left-hander. On May 18, 2004, less than four months from his 41st birthday, Johnson struck out 13 Braves and set down all 27 batters to become the oldest pitcher to toss a perfect game and just the fifth pitcher to throw a no-hitter in both leagues.

Bernard Hopkins
Some would argue Bernard Hopkins is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world right now. Now here's the kicker: He's 43. He already was the oldest middleweight champion ever as he held the belt for 10 years and defended it 20 times. Since turning 40, Hopkins has done well against top-flight competition. He won lopsided unanimous decisions over Antonio Tarver and Winky Wright and lost a split decision to Joe Calzaghe. Then in October, when he was 42, Hopkins, in the minds of many, won every round in dominating fashion against previously undefeated Kelly Pavlik.

Julius Boros
Here's a trivia question for you: Who's the oldest player ever to win a major championship in golf? Answer: Julius Boros. He was 48 when he won the 1968 PGA Championship at Pecan Valley Golf Club in San Antonio, Texas. He shot a final-round 69 to beat Bob Charles and Arnold Palmer by one shot. Fittingly, Boros was instrumental in the late 1970s with the start of the senior tour, known today as the Champions Tour.

Martina Navratilova
Navratilova already was one of the legends in tennis well before this decade. From 1978-90, she won 18 grand slam singles titles, including nine Wimbledons. In 2003, when she was 46, she won the Australian Open and Wimbledon mixed doubles titles with Leander Paes to become the oldest player to win a major title. But she still had a couple of more impressive victories left. In 2004, when she was 47 years, 8 months, Navratilova won a Wimbledon match in straight sets to become the oldest player to win a pro singles match in the Open era (after 1968). Two years later, at age 49, she teamed with Bob Bryan to win the U.S. Open mixed doubles title.

Sam Snead
When it comes to old guys and golf, Sam Snead is the master. He's the oldest player to win a PGA Tour event, taking the 1965 Greater Greensboro Open just shy of his 53rd birthday. At the 1979 PGA Championship, he became the oldest player (67 years, 2 months) to make the cut at a major. He was the first tour player to shoot his age when he shot 67 at the 1979 Quad Cities Open. And until Vijay Singh came along, Snead held the record for PGA Tour victories after the age of 40 with 17.

Gordie Howe
After the World Hockey Association folded and the Hartford Whalers joined the NHL, the legendary Gordie Howe decided to play one more season. He played all 80 games and helped the Whalers into the playoffs with 15 goals and 26 assists. He also played in the All-Star Game, picking up an assist. Now the amazing part: He was 51. We should also take this moment to recognize defenseman Chris Chelios, who turned 47 in January and recently announced he wants to play next season -- his 26th in the NHL. Consider this: When Chelios broke into the league in 1984, Sidney Crosby was three years from being born.

Sun Sports, along with partners Fox Sports South and Fox Sports Southwest, has struck a deal to bring more Southeastern Conference sports events to television, including seven SEC football games this fall. In addition to the seven football games, Sun Sports also will carry 20 men's basketball games, 24 women's basketball games, 16 baseball games and 24 Olympic-style sports.

The schedule of SEC football games to be shown on Sun Sports has not been set, but the games will be in high definition and produced out of Atlanta by Fox Sports South.

The programming also includes a Wednesday football preview show called SEC Gridiron Live, hosted by Charles Davis with analysis from Randy Cross. An official announcement with more details about the package is expected later this week.

Veteran Bay area sports anchor Al Keck will not have his contract renewed by WFTS-Ch. 28 when it expires later this summer. Keck said his last day will be sometime around Sept. 1.

"And now I'll look at other opportunities,'' Keck said. "I've got some exciting possibilities.''

Keck said he is mulling over possibilities both locally and outside the area both in broadcasting and outside of broadcasting. He added he has one intriguing possibility, but wasn't prepared to talk about it because it's in the early stages.

Rich Pegram, Ch. 28's general manager, said, "As we all are in this industry during these times, we are re-examining the best way to cover all the stories that we need to cover. Sports is still an integral part of what we do and we know people care about sports. But we are re-examining our future and we felt it was best to let Al know as early as possible about this. He is the consummate professional and we wish him nothing but the best.''

Pegram said no decision has been made about a replacement or even if the station would replace Keck. With Keck's departure, Tom Korun would be the only full-time on-air sports anchor.

"We're still deciding how best to go forward,'' Pegram said. "Right now, any and all options are possible.''

Keck, 54, was an anchor at WTSP-Ch. 10 for more than 12 years when his contract was not renewed in 2001. He joined Ch. 28 later that year.

Photo: ABC Action News

Looking back at a weekend of televised sports ...

Best feature
Sunday was the 30th anniversary of Disco Demolition Night at old Comiskey Park in Chicago. Between games of a doubleheader, a Chicago disc jockey blew up disco records and the result was the end of disco and a riot with fans storming the field and tearing up the field, forcing the White Sox to forfeit the second game.

ESPN's Sunday SportsCenter put together an outstanding look back, including interviews with fans, players, broadcasters, disc jockey Steve Dahl and Mike Veeck, the son of White Sox owner, Bill, and, many believe, the man behind the promotion.

Many retrospectives often make light of the whole thing, like it was an amusing chapter in baseball history. But what made ESPN's piece so good was, sure, it brought out the humor of the night, but it also relayed just how frightening and out of control the fans were and how dangerous the night turned out to be. The best part was a rare and surreal clip of then-White Sox announcer Harry Caray and the elder Veeck singing Take Me Out to the Ball Game in a misguided and bizarre effort to calm down the fans.

Best moment
Week in and week out, the best 10 minutes on television these days are the postrace interviews during TNT's NASCAR coverage. Sticking a microphone in front of a bunch of drivers still pumping with adrenaline is television gold. You never know what someone is going to say, but someone is going to say something fun. Saturday's best moment was Kurt Busch, who was ticked off that he lost an early lead when he was spun out by Jimmie Johnson: "I'm starting to lose faith in his ability to be a three-time champion on the track. … Couple runs spoiled by the 48 car, so I'm not digging it.''

Best analyst
There are a lot of ordinary analysts on national baseball game broadcasts. ESPN's stable is full of mediocre talent. Fox's Tim McCarver is probably the best in the bunch, but Fox's Eric Karros is closing fast. His work Saturday on the Yankees-Angels game was excellent, and one moment stood out in particular. In the first inning, the Angels' Chone Figgins was nearly doubled off first base after a diving catch in center by the Yankees' Brett Gardner. (Replays showed Figgins, who went back standing up, should have been called out.) Replays also showed Angels first-base coach Alfredo Griffin standing with his hands on his hips instead of telling Figgins to slide.

It's the type of thing where Karros could have given another former player -- and a onetime teammate with the Dodgers -- a pass. Instead, Karros called out Griffin for not doing his job. Good stuff.

Strangest quote
No doubt Radim Vrbata, signed as a free agent by the Lightning last summer, was a bust. After signing a three-year, $9 million deal, he had three goals and three assists in 18 games before going to his native Czech Republic. Well, Vrbata wants to come back. Last week, Times staff writer Damian Cristodero asked Lightning general manager Brian Lawton about Vrbata, and Lawton said: "He won't fit into our plans. There won't be a roster spot for him. He has the right to come back, and if he wants to he can, and he'll end up in (minor-league) Norfolk.''

Excuse me, but isn't this the GM of a team that has been the worst in hockey the past two seasons? Can you really afford to make roster decisions in July? After all, this is a guy who scored 27 goals two seasons ago. What if he comes to camp and lights it up? You're telling me this team doesn't have room for a goal scorer? Now if it's a salary-cap issue (as we suspect it is) come out and say that. But don't make it sound personal. This team isn't good enough at the moment to hold grudges.

Harshest criticism
ESPN's Sports Reporters, still one of the most watchable shows on TV, had its most interesting segment in months when the panel of Mike Lupica, Bob Ryan, Mitch Albom and host John Saunders discussed the late Steve McNair and did so by bringing up some of sports' dirty little secrets, including that many athletes lead double lives that involve women on the side. Albom was especially harsh, although not out of line, to point out that McNair had a 17-year-old son and a 20-year-old girlfriend. He had a home with a wife and four kids, yet also had a condo for his flings. Lupica was bothered by those who claim McNair, just like Michael Jackson, should be remembered only for his good deeds and talents.
"Don't tell me how to remember someone,'' Lupica said. Agree or disagree, it was a powerful conversation.

Best stat
It's one of those statistics that you know but always seem to forget, and then when you see it you're surprised all over again. You think of the Yankees and their incredible history, but their all-time leader in hits (Lou Gehrig) was well short of 3,000 — 2,721. Fox's Game of the Week reminded us that shortstop Derek Jeter is now second on the team's all-time list, with 2,645 hits after Sunday’s game.

Here's something else that might surprise you. Let's say Jeter, 35, gets 100 hits the rest of the season, that would give him 2,745 in his first 14 full seasons. After 14 seasons, when he was also 35, all-time hits leader Pete Rose had 2,762 hits. There are a variety of reasons why Jeter likely won’t catch Rose (4,256), the biggest being it's hard to imagine Jeter wanting to play until he's 45 like Rose did. But it is interesting to look at Jeter being on the same pace as Rose.

Three things that popped into my head
1. Cyclist Lance Armstrong and Astana teammate Alberto Contador had a little dustup the other day when Contador apparently didn't follow the team plan and leapfrogged Armstrong in the Tour de France overall standings. I still don't get this whole "teammate'' thing in cycling. Why not just have everyone out there race for themselves?
2. Seminole's Brittany Lincicome made a little noise in the U.S. Women's Open golf tournament Sunday and isn't it nice to have a local golfer to make the women's majors a little more interesting to watch? If it wasn't for Lincicome hanging around the leaders, many of us would have missed Eun-He Ji's incredible putt to win.
3. Anyone else sick and tired of those shaving cream pies during postgame baseball interviews?

Andy Roddick became a winner by losing Sunday. It was how he lost to Roger Federer in the epic Wimbledon final. He showed heart and guts and class that he never showed before, not even in victory. His reputation improved in a losing effort, more so than it would have had he won in straight sets. We take a look at others who lost but whose reputations grew because of it.

Rocco Mediate
Many might have forgotten that Michael Campbell won a U.S. Open. So did Steve Jones. But no one will ever forget that it was a smiling Rocco Mediate who stood toe-to-toe with Tiger Woods for 19 playoff holes in the 2008 U.S. Open. Mediate has never won a major, but his runnerup finish to Woods made more of an impact than if he had actually won in the traditional way like Campbell and Jones.

Joe Frazier
Smokin' Joe was a fine heavyweight champion, but it was a loss that moved him to legendary status. The final bout in his epic trilogy against Muhammad Ali -- the Thrilla in Manila in 1975 -- was one of the most brutal fights ever. Ali won only because a near-blind Frazier quit seconds before the start of the 15th round and just before Ali was ready to throw in the towel.

Arizona Cardinals
Football's lovable losers pulled off a string of upsets to reach last season's Super Bowl, but few gave them a chance to even stay close to the Steelers. Yet it took a two-minute drive for the ages for the Steelers to pull out the victory. Kurt Warner and the Cards would rather have a Super Bowl ring, but even in a loss they earned the respect they had not experienced previously.

John McEnroe
With his bad-boy image and awful temper, McEnroe was cast as the villain in the 1980 Wimbledon final against the cool and classy Bjorn Borg. Five sets later, including the greatest tiebreak in tennis history, Borg prevailed, but McEnroe was given the respect in losing that he never gained in winning. His effort drew out an emotion from fans that they had never shown McEnroe before: sympathy.

Harvey Haddix
This Pirates pitcher retired the first 36 batters he faced and took a perfect game into the 13th inning against the Braves in 1959. But he ended up losing when he gave up a run in the 13th. Despite the 1-0 loss, many consider his one-hit complete game the greatest pitching performance in baseball history.

Dara Torres
Torres had won four Olympic gold medals from 1984 to 2000, but that just made her another really good American swimmer. It was three silver medals in the 2008 Olympics, when she was 41 years old and competing against women half her age, that made her a swimming legend.

Phil Mickelson
He has been runnerup five times at the U.S. Open. The first four times, he was criticized. The fifth time (last month at Bethpage), Mickelson played as his wife battled breast cancer. He smiled. He engaged the crowd. And he played magnificently. He came up short but won over fans with his performance.

Rocky Balboa
This is what this category is all about -- the epitome of a man in an event where the final result didn't even matter. As Rocky said, "If I can go that distance, you see, and that bell rings and I'm still standin', I'm gonna know for the first time in my life, see, that I weren't just another bum from the neighborhood.''
Amen.

Looking back at a weekend of televised sports ...

Worst feeling
While Roger Federer jumped up and down Sunday celebrating his Wimbledon victory and his record 15th major title, wasn't it hard to think about anything other than the heartbreak Andy Roddick was suffering? Roddick played his guts out, showing more heart and mental fortitude than he ever has before, and he did not deserve to lose the epic five-set final. That's not to say Federer didn't deserve to win. But Roddick deserved better than the runnerup trophy for playing, probably, the greatest match of his life just two days after he beat Britain's favorite son, Andy Murray, in the semifinals.

"He's probably played the greatest match of his life two straight times,'' NBC's Ted Robinson said on the air.

If there is any justice, Roddick will win Wimbledon some day, but you have to wonder if he ever will. He turns 27 in August, but Federer turns a mere 28 in August, too. And, Rafael Nadal, who is out with a knee injury, just turned 23 and, when healthy, is the best player in the world. But, just like John McEnroe after his loss to Bjorn Borg in the classic 1980 Wimbledon final, Roddick had his reputation change for the better in a losing effort. Because of his performance and the class he showed after such a cruel loss, Roddick should be given more respect from now on. That stood out more Sunday than Federer's 15th grand slam victory.

Random thoughts about NBC's Wimbledon coverage
Best commentator: John McEnroe again showed why he is among the best commentators on TV. He never talks over the audience's head by using technical/inside-tennis speak. A final like Sunday's is all about emotion and drama, and McEnroe brought that out by talking like the common tennis fan. But one nit about NBC’s commentators: McEnroe was not included in the women's final Saturday, and Mary Carillo was not in the booth for the men's final. McEnroe and Carillo have great chemistry together, and NBC would be best served having them work together for the finals.
Best post-match moment: John McEnroe's interview with tennis legends Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras, who was on hand to see his record of 14 majors fall to Roger Federer. Give McEnroe his due for putting them all on the spot by asking if Federer was, indeed, the greatest of all time. Sampras even admitted it was hard to say that while standing next to Laver and Borg.
Best commercial: The first commercial after Roger Federer's win was an instant Nike classic with Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Serena Williams, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods congratulating Federer on his record. The best line was from McEnroe, who said, "Thanks for making us all feel so mediocre.''
Most rigid: NBC announcer Ted Robinson might be right, but ever since Roger Federer won the French Open, he insists that Federer is the greatest player ever, as if no one else even belongs in the conversation. After Sunday's match, Robinson said Federer "now has every stat needed to lay claim'' as the best ever. No, not every stat. Rod Laver has two career grand slams. He won each of them in the same year, only the second player to accomplish that feat, and the only one in the Open era. Bjorn Borg essentially quit at age 25 after winning 11 majors despite playing the Australian Open only once in his career. Finally, there's Pete Sampras, who won 14 majors against, arguably, better and deeper competition than Federer. Equipment has changed, rules have changed, eras are different. For Robinson to act as if there's no debate is disrespectful to the sport.

Best coverage
As good as NBC's Wimbledon coverage was, the best sports coverage of the weekend goes to TNT for its work at the crash-filled Coke Zero 400 on Saturday night. The finest moments came immediately after the race when TNT showed serious hustle with a series of lightning-quick interviews with a half-dozen drivers about the final-lap wreck between winner Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch.

Best use of soapbox
Here, here for Fox baseball analyst Tim McCarver, who took everyone to task for getting so giddy over the return of Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez from a 50-game suspension for violating baseball's drug policy.
During Saturday's Fox game of the week between the Mets and Phillies, McCarver said, "It's almost as though Manny Ramirez is being treated as though he was on the disabled list for 50 games. Maybe this is a rhetorical question, but why all the adulation for a guy who has served a 50-game suspension when guys like Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro, A-Rod served no suspensions and yet they're branded? I mean, is that a reasonable question to ask?''

ESPN should be most embarrassed by its Manny coverage, but Fox, too, joined in Saturday by showing each of Ramirez's at-bats in the Dodgers game against the Padres, a fact not lost on McCarver.

"We jumped right on the wagon, too,'' McCarver said.

Biggest issues
More changes over at 1010-AM. The days of the SportsChix appear to be over. Two weeks after co-host Leslee Lacey left the show, longtime co-host Lynne Austin has decided to call it quits as well. Last week, the SportsChix's noon to 3 p.m. slot was filled by Sporting News Radio programming. Tom Krasniqi will take over the noon to 3 slot, although there are rumors he will be joined by a partner in the coming weeks. This news comes after morning-drive juggling when the awful Tampa 2 stopped airing after only a few months. Bottom line is 1010 needs to get its act together, pick a regular lineup and stick with it.

The Sports Animal, 620-AM, dominates the market mostly because it has the strongest signal and affiliations with the area's sports teams. The programming on 620 from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Dan Sileo, Ron and Ian, Jim Rome, Steve Duemig) is not bad but not so great that another station can't give it some competition. But when the lineup is different virtually every week, it's hard to build a following.

Most forgotten network
MLB Network went live to a game last week even though the game was in a delay. But what made it so cool was the game between the Astros and Padres in San Diego was in a delay because of a swarm of bees. But speaking of the MLB Network, you have to wonder if diehard baseball fans turn to ESPN's Baseball Tonight or the MLB Network for their latest news and highlights.

Meanwhile, TBS did a solid job with its All-Star Selection Show on Sunday, including interviews with Rays manager Joe Maddon and third baseman Evan Longoria. But would it kill analyst David Wells to throw on a tie or, at least, a sport coat?

Wimbledon -- the coolest tennis tournament in the world, the one with the richest tradition -- jumped the shark Monday. In the name of progress, innovation and fan friendliness, it closed the retractable roof on Centre Court to keep rain from interrupting its precious tournament. Fans cheered and players praised, but a tradition was lost, just like when lights were installed at Wrigley Field. The thing that was supposed to make it better actually made it a little worse. Here are some sports traditions lost in the name of advancement.

Roof at Wimbledon
Rain is part of the tournament's charm. It changes momentum. It adds intrigue. Last year's final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer became an epic, partly because of the rain. When you think of Wimbledon, what comes to mind? Grass, strawberries and cream, and rain. Not anymore. Now we have a roof. At Wimbledon. Blasphemy!

New Yankee Stadium
These days it's all about private suites and swanky clubs and plush clubhouses. But not only does the new stadium lack the charm and tradition of the old digs, it's a joke with homers flying out at a record pace. It's like a new easy chair that might look nice and have a place for your drink and remote. The old chair had stains and rips and a missing handle, but it sure was comfortable.

New Year's Day bowl games
You're supposed to have the Cotton Bowl in the mid afternoon, the Rose Bowl in the late afternoon and the Sugar and Orange at night. And by the end, we're supposed to have a national champion. Now these classic bowls are spread out. Did you know that last year there was a bowl game on Jan. 6? And it was the GMAC Bowl, for crying out loud.

Organ music at hockey games
Go to a hockey game and prepare to have your senses blasted. Loud music, screaming promotion announcers, overly caffeinated "spirit'' team kids firing T-shirts out of air guns. Teams still have an organ, but we're subjected to AC/DC and Guns N' Roses and ear-splitting levels before every faceoff. Maybe just once a season, teams could have "organ night.''’ No announcers. No T-shirts. No rock music. Just a guy playing an organ during the breaks.

Scheduled doubleheaders
The holiday baseball doubleheaders -- Memorial Day, July Fourth, Labor Day -- were great. Twi-night double­headers were the best. Now, the only time there's a doubleheader is to make up a rainout. And it's always a day-night doubleheader so teams can squeeze out full gates from every game they play. Once again, another example of greed taking one of the great traditions from sports.

World Series day games
Gone for good are the days when kids would sneak a transistor to school and listen to the first couple innings before racing home to watch the end. Or maybe you had a really cool teacher who would close the blinds, turn off the lights and wheel in that black-and-white television on that huge stand so you could enjoy the game. Memories like that build fans. The first night World Series game was in 1971, Orioles-Pirates Game 4. Now games end so late that kids can't stay up to watch.

Braves on TBS
Atlanta's "SuperStation''’ was one of the first cable stations. The best thing was, anywhere in the country, you could watch the Braves. They were horrible, the old "Launching Pad'' was practically empty and announcer Skip Caray talked more about what movie was on after the game. You didn't always watch, but it was comforting to know they were on. These days, TBS shows a national Game of the Week, and fans can watch any game they want. But there was something special about watching the Cubs on WGN during the day and the Braves on TBS at night.

Looking back at a weekend of televised sports ...

Worst news
Quite the buzz over the United States -- after its miracle-on-grass upset of Spain last week -- playing in the Confederations Cup men's soccer final against Brazil on Sunday. And what a heartbreaker for the Americans, kicking away an early two-goal lead in a 3-2 gut-wrenching loss. For soccer fans in this country, this was yet another potential seminal moment, when the rest of the country would finally "get it'' and appreciate soccer as much as they and the rest of the world do. We would all get swooped up in this American run and become football fanatics.

But it's not going to happen. We all paid attention Sunday. But now it's Monday, and we've put soccer back on the shelf until the next time the Americans do something special. We'll pay attention then, and then we'll forget about it until the time after that. That's how soccer works in this country. We all cheered in 1999 when Brandi Chastain ripped off her shirt after the Americans beat China to win the women's World Cup. Casual sports fans got to know Chastain, Mia Hamm, Briana Scurry, Michelle Akers, Kristine Lilly and Julie Foudy. But how many current American female players can you name?

It's not a sport Americans follow day in and day out. It's like Olympic sports. Few pay attention to what's going on in track and field or swimming except for two weeks every four years. The next time Americans will pay attention to soccer is when the World Cup is played a year from now. Until then, we reserve our passions for football, baseball, basketball, NASCAR and Tiger Woods. This isn't to put down soccer. The sport is by far the most popular in the world. It would be arrogant to say the rest of the world is wrong and only Americans are right to think it’s boring. But it would be wrong to think that the tremendous effort the American men put in during the past week has suddenly turned the United States into a country full of soccer fans.

Worst tournament
The biggest letdown in sports might be the golf tournament held the week after a major championship. A week after Lucas Glover won the U.S. Open by shooting 4 under, fans watched the Travelers Championship, in which 4 under was tied for 59th. You saw the leaders at 20 under (Kenny Perry won at 22 under) and your instinct was to roll your eyes and change the channel.

Best offseason move
So which team made the bigger deal in the NBA Eastern Conference to improve its championship hopes? Was it Cleveland getting Shaquille O'Neal to play with LeBron James? Or was it the Magic acquiring Vince Carter to play with Dwight Howard? Both were good deals, but the biggest "addition'' just might be the Celtics getting Kevin Garnett back from injury.

Most surprising trivia
If you watched the Fox baseball game of the week Saturday, you learned two things about analyst Eric Karros. And it's hard to decide which was more surprising: that he hit more homers in a Los Angeles Dodgers uniform than anyone or that he never played in an All-Star Game.

Most impressive performance
The best sporting event on TV today is a rematch of this year's French Open final between Roger Federer and Robin Soderling in a fourth-round match at Wimbledon. Federer leads the series 10-0, which led Soderling to crack, "Nobody can beat me 11 times in a row!''

Speaking of Federer, this is what's so impressive about him: He never has an off day in a major championship. Everyone gets sick, run down or injured. Everyone loses focus. Everyone occasionally loses a match he shouldn't. Except for Federer. In his past 20 Grand Slam events, Federer has won or reached the final 17 times. The other three times, he reached the semifinals. His record in Grand Slam events over that span is 106-7. And here's the kicker: All those losses were to the man who eventually won those tournaments.

Most hypocritical
We all love Sweet Lou Piniella, but doesn't the Cubs manager have to be called out for sending Milton Bradley home last week after Bradley went crazy in the dugout after a fly out? Piniella got into a heated exchange with Bradley after the outfielder threw his helmet and tried to bust up a water cooler. Look, Bradley is a wing nut and does this stuff all the time. This isn't meant to defend him, but don't we see half the Cubs act that way? Doesn't it seem as if pitcher Carlos Zambrano melts down about every third start? You don't see any of them sent home. And is this the same Piniella who tosses bases, kicks dirt and once screamed at Ben Grieve with the Devil Rays because he didn't think Grieve showed enough emotion? Having said that, Rays fans should be happy their team did not sign Bradley in the offseason, something that was considered over at the Trop.

Best pitcher
How about Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield? On Saturday's Fox game of the week against the Braves, Wakefield tied Roger Clemens for most starts in a Boston uniform with 382, and he's among the franchise leaders in just about every pitching category. Saturday he pitched six shutout innings.

"If (Rays manager) Joe Maddon is the mensch I think he is,'' Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan said on ESPN's Sports Reporters on Sunday, "he will take 42-year-old Tim Wakefield and his current 10-3 record for his American League All-Star pitching staff.'' Amen.

Most disappointing
It was the Golden Boy himself, Oscar De La Hoya, who called junior welterweight Victor Ortiz "the next Oscar.'' Wonder if he meant Ortiz would never quite live up to the hype? Ortiz is 22 and was 24-1-1 when he stepped into the ring and onto HBO Boxing on Saturday night to take on Argentine Marcos Maidana. Officially, the fight was stopped in the sixth round because of a cut over Ortiz's right eye, but Ortiz essentially quit. That led to the most interesting comment heard on a sports broadcast over the weekend. HBO Boxing analyst Max Kellerman said, "In boxing, to be great, more is required of you than in any other sport; more is required than is really reasonable.''

In other words, Ortiz needed incredible heart to keep fighting, but he didn’t have it.

Three things I learned over the weekend
1. The NHL draft is incredibly boring after your team makes its first-round pick.
2. This one thanks to sharp replays on Rays TV: Reliever Chad Bradford is a freak to be able to get that close to the ground while pitching.
3. Sports fans really don’t care about steroids, given the reaction to Manny Ramirez playing in the minors.