The Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets had gone to the third inning when I learned of Steve McNair's tragic death on Saturday.

When the "All-Star Selection Show" on TBS came on at 10 a.m. PDT on Sunday, nobody in the Angels' clubhouse seemed to know or care. All the TVs were tuned in to the epic Wimbledon singles final on NBC, and all eyes were riveted on Roger Federer and Andy Roddick exchanging ground strokes in the marathon fifth set.

Win or lose. You make it or you don't. The best players play.

I tried to climb into Joe Dumars' head this weekend. But the last I heard he was at Avery Johnson's house in Houston, and if you think Houston is usually stifling hot in the summer, imagine how hot it is there when you're inside somebody's head.

And you thought last year's Wimbledon final was exciting?

So many players make it to the All-Star Game these days, the selection of Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Joe Nathan to this year's American League team might not resonate as it should.

The Mets left town Sunday afternoon the same way they arrived - very quietly - and it would be difficult to blame the Phillies for checking off their rival from the mental list of worries this season.

The early word before the inaugural IFAF Junior World Championship title game on Sunday was that the United States and Canada were two teams that really did not like each other.

Chuck Fletcher has no idea what he's doing.

I think I've figured out why Manny Ramirez may have used human chorionic gonadtropin (hCG). A possible side effect is puberty. No kidding. He may have been trying to grow up.

If Michael Taylor isn't a 'Futures' star, who is?

It wasn't until this weekend when I ran into an old college teammate who lives in Chicago that I considered the significance of the Chiefs signing Bears safety Mike Brown.

What a battle Saturday! Did you see it? A highly anticipated duel, full of high drama, with athleticism at its finest and major championship at stake.

All you need is a tape recorder and a radio station. Baseball teams have access to both, so why wouldn't they allow the manager's question-and-answer period with the media to be broadcast on a postgame show?