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Tom Jones'

By TOM JONES
Published September 18, 2007

Sportswriter of the day

Dave Anderson, one of the nation's top sports columnists and one of the nicest men you could ever meet, is retiring from the New York Times. He will still write occasionally - about 18 columns a year, mostly Sundays - in what the Times is calling an "emeritus role." Anderson, who joined the Times in 1966, won a Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary in 1981.e_SClBLine of the day

"Chokin' freakin' dogs."

That's what golf analyst Dottie Pepper said Saturday after the U.S. Solheim Cup team let the European team come back and tie several matches. The problem? Pepper thought she was off the air. Uh, she wasn't, and her line went out over the airwaves. The chokin' freakin' dogs came back to win the event Sunday.e_SClBGame of the day

KEYE, the CBS affiliate in Austin, Tex., has called itself a "faithful Houston Texans station" since the team's inaugural 2002 season. But this season? Not so much. In the first two weeks, the station has shown Tennessee Titans games. Last season, Titans games on the station outrated the Texans games by 60 percent. How come? Station manager Barry Horn told the Dallas Morning News, "Call it the Vince Young Effect." Horn was referring to the former University of Texas quarterback who now starts for Tennessee.

Jerk of the day

Yankees outfielder Shelley Duncan just made the list of all-time jerks.

A prank is one thing. What Duncan did Friday night crossed the line of taste and class.

Griffin Whitman, a 10-year-old Red Sox fan from Swampscott, Mass., was attending his first Yankees-Red Sox game. Whitman asked Duncan for an autograph. Duncan obliged, but what he wrote isn't exactly the kind of thing you should be writing to a kid.

Griffin told the Boston Herald, "It was cool to get his autograph. It didn't make me feel happy when he wrote that."

Griffin's mother, Karen, was a little more fired up.

"This is someone who wears the Yankee uniform and is on the payroll and should be setting an example for 10-year-olds," she said.

Duncan acted as if it were no big deal: "I thought I was back in middle school or high school, where you try to make a joke or say something funny, and you end up saying something that gets you in trouble. I try to be interactive with people, be funny, have a good time and have a laugh. ... I don't expect anybody to make a big deal about it."

Duncan, son of St. Louis Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan, should know better. If karma is real, this guy has a month of 0-for-4s coming to him.

Upsets of the year?

Not to rain on USF's parade. After all, the football team is in the Top 25 polls for the first time in school history.

But the overtime upset at Auburn doesn't seem as impressive as it did a week ago. That's because Auburn turned around and lost again at home Saturday, this time to lowly Mississippi State and a backup quarterback.

Meanwhile, that Appalachian State upset of Michigan two weeks ago? The one many called the greatest upset ever? Well, after Oregon crushed Michigan a week later, that upset doesn't seem to have quite the juice either. If Michigan goes down again this Saturday against a very good Penn State team, that will make the Wolverines 1-3 with the lone victory coming against a very bad Notre Dame team.

Your two cents

Well, evidently Jon Gruden's got his mojo back. Or, possibly he finally has his quarterback.

David EisenbartSt. Petersburg

I can't believe you gave such little recognition of the American women's win of the Solheim Cup. This event is one of the most prestigious events in women's golf. The small story you had in Monday's paper was awful. Why not a picture and headlines like one of Tiger's win on FedEx Cup?

Phyllis Parcellse_SFlbvia e-mail

[Last modified September 18, 2007, 01:11:39]