The Sports Truth

He did it again. It took five sets, 3 hours 48 minutes, and a ton of physical and mental anguish, but Andre Agassi got it done. In a match he had wrapped up in the third and fourth sets, then appeared to have let slip away in the fifth, Agassi prevailed through sheer will.

He won because he would not let Marcus Baghdatis beat him. Because his body was the less weakened of the two, and because the New York crowd would not allow this legend to go quietly into the morning. Agassi had to prevail in this match somehow. He just had to.

He did, prolonging his career at least two more days, and one more match. The score of Agassi’s epic win over eighth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis in the second round of the U.S. Open last night reads 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 7-5, although that doesn’t begin to tell the whole story.

Neither does what follows below, but here’s a quick rundown of the sequence of events transpiring at Arthur Ashe Stadium, August 31-September 1…

• Agassi takes the first set, 6-4, aided by a lengthy point in the eighth game in which Baghdatis took a spill and hurt his left wrist.
• Playing his prototypical game, using clean and efficient groundstrokes and just enough first serves Agassi conserves energy and rolls to another 6-4 set. John McEnroe uses both “tight” and “loose” to negatively describe Baghdatis, who is obviously off his game, either playing tentatively or going for way too much.
• Andre has a break point at 3-3 in the third set, prompting McEnroe and his announcing counterpart, Ted Robinson, to discuss how he was about to finish the Cyprus native off in an hour and a half.
• Baghdatis holds serve, then capitalizes on a rare weak service game from Agassi to break for a 5-3 advantage. He serves out the set handily and is right back in this thing. We learn that a person from Cyprus is called a “Cypriot!” Who knew?
• While he overcame whatever mental bloc afflicted him earlier, Baghdatis can’t stop spraying the ball. Clusters of unforced errors land him in an 0-4 hole to start the fourth set, as Agassi fans prematurely celebrate a second time.

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No pulsating intro music or pyrotechnics are necessary when the Sports Truth’s Starting Five takes the floor. Primarily because our budget won’t allot for such things. That would be so cool, though!

Every Friday, our panel of experts takes a current sports topic and sounds off on it — five times over. These guys have been researching constantly, poring over endless data and bouncing ideas off each other in preparation for this feature. Prepare to be amused, perplexed, enraged and maybe a little awed by their collective brilliance.

This Week’s Topic: THE UPCOMING NFL SEASON

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1. Obligatory Terrell Owens question: Which will he record more of: fines or TDs?

EVAN CHRISTOPHER: I’m going to go with fines since he already has a few of those against zero touchdowns. Plus, with Bledsoe in the pocket, T.O. will be on defense most of the time trying to break up obvious interceptions.

LUCAS DWYER: It’s hard to wager against fines at this point considering fines already leads touchdowns 1-0 and the season hasn’t even started. Touchdowns suffered a major loss when Owens’ got injured during the pre-season. A statement by touchdowns issued later that day showed a steadfast resolve not to let the injury affect performance and touchdowns seemed determined to overcome the 1-0 deficit it faces against fines. You can say all you want, but the track record of fines speaks for itself. I think TDs will retake the lead early in the season, but fines will mount a furious late season charge to win, 5-4.

MICHAEL BRIAN: I think he’ll record more episodes of Veronica Mars. Turns out he really got into the show during his downtime last season, but this year he’s got practice during the show’s time slot. Hopefully his DVR doesn’t tweak its hamstring.

THE PUNDIT: More TDs. I don’t think he’ll turn into a $h!thead until after the season.

MICHAEL STEPHENS: If he’s healthy, he’ll probably get a minimum of 9-10 TDs. Amassing that many fines will to be tough, however, even for a man of T.O.’s ilk. After 6-7 disciplinary infractions, Dallas may elect to rid itself of Owens and just eat his contract. And it will taste bitter.

LEVI MATTHEWS: He’ll have some fine touchdowns, trust me on that one. Drew Bledsoe throws a very pretty deep ball. But the answer to the question is obviously fines, the guy is a horrid human being.

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The Church of Scientology was apparently prepared to show its best-known ambassador, Tom Cruise, the money after the actor got the ax from Paramount last week, but Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder (right) came to the rescue instead.

The marketing mogul has reached a two-year deal in which he will finance the 44-year-old’s movies, a spokeswoman for Cruise’s production company confirms.

The deal between Cruise/Wagner Productions and newly-formed First & Goal LLC (Fourth & 23 might have been more accurate) will cover overhead and development for Cruise and his producing partner, Paula Wagner. Their company will sign and produce films, which will likely star Cruise, whose growing insanity helped him wear out his welcome at Paramount.

Financial terms were not disclosed for the pact, which has an option to renew for a longer term.

Snyder, who also heads an investment partnership that controls amusement park operator Six Flags Inc., among other companies, will join with ESPN executive Mark Shapiro, who heads Six Flags, in overseeing the investment in Cruise/Wagner.

“This gives us the opportunity to work with all the studios and broadens our base,” Wagner said.

The actor was equally insane excited.

“Dan Snyder and Mark Shapiro are proven winners. Paula and I look forward to many mutual successes,” Cruise said.

Apparently, Scientology must not permit Tom to watch NFL games. A proven winner? Sure, Snyder’s marketing company, Snyder Communications Inc., was massively successful. But business genius does not football — or movie — success make.

Since May 1999, when Snyder purchased the team and their stadium for $800 million following the death of the legendary owner Jack Kent Cooke in what was the most expensive transaction in sporting history, the Skins have won less than half of their games. They’re 54-58, to be exact, with only two postseason berths.

Expect the wildly overrated Redskins and the couch-jumping lunatic to tank this autumn and beyond. Snyder’s bankrolling of Cruise merely attests to the exec’s propensity for pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into losers. **Fist Pump**

“He’s a punk, you’re a legend!”

It’s hard to believe that in 1988, those words and many more like them were bellowed by a U.S. Open crowd desperate to spur an aging Jimmy Connors on. His opponent in that year’s quarterfinal? None other than Andre Agassi.

In both 1988 and 1989, these legends of different generations clashed in the round of eight. While Agassi took both matches, it certainly wasn’t thanks to the New York fans. Even in the twilight of his career, Connors captivated them as he always did. The long-haired teen upstart in the far court may as well have been invisible. A deafening roar followed every point Connors won.

Fast forward to Monday night, when a 36-year-old Agassi labored through a four-set first-round victory over Andrei Pavel. Having announced that this year’s Open will be has last competitive tournament, the two-time champion carried the entire tennis world on his racket until after midnight.

When Pavel took the first set in a tie-break, the air of a funeral wafted through Arthur Ashe Stadium. But Andre somehow battled back.

He trailed 4-0 in the second set tie-break before slugging his way to a 10-8 victory to square the match. After quickly falling behind 4-0 in the third set, the best returner in tennis history showed why he’s been lauded as such, breaking Pavel twice to force another tie-break, which he won, 8-6.

Only then, after three grueling sets and hours, did his Romanian foe crumble, both physically and mentally. Agassi closed it out, 6-2, flashing an exhausted, exuberant smile. Sure, it was just a first round match, of which he’d won 16 at Flushing Meadows prior to this week. But he clearly savored the moment.

Monday night, Agassi showed us three things:

1. In his 21st consecutive U.S. Open, he’s still in tremendous physical condition, and has plenty of good tennis left in him.
2. Showing the strain of a bad back and the general wear and tear of two decades on tour, he is incapable of stringing together six more wins in the next week and a half, especially since most (if not all) would have to come against better players than Pavel.
3. He’s picked the right time to pack it in.

Very few athletes leave when they’re on top. Most try to hang on way too long. Andre won’t go out the way Pete Sampras did, winning the 2002 U.S. Open final (against Agassi, no less) in what would be his final match. But the Las Vegas native will come pretty close.

Having seen him play at the U.S. Open in both 1990 and 2005 (!), I observed no decline in his level of play. He made the final just last year, pushing Roger Federer as hard as anyone could for four sets. Even as his game declines due to injuries and fatigue in 2006, he’s capable of hanging with the top dogs — just not beating them.

Agassi has given his entire life to tennis and knows better than to tarnish his legacy by not giving way to the next generation of champions and the right time. There’s also nothing left for him to accomplish. As an eight-time Grand Slam winner and one of five players to win all four majors, he’s cemented himself among the sport’s all time greats.

But he’s so much more than that. He has everything, yet is more polite, and displays more humility, than the average man on the street. Agassi has given more back, through his charity work, than just about anyone. He’s a testament to hard work, perseverance and generosity. He’s a terrific ambassador to tennis, to sports, to America, to humanity.

Andre Agassi won’t win the 2006 U.S. Open, but he’s already won our respect and hearts. Don’t expect us to let him go out quietly.

A.J. DiScala and Nick Lachey (left) are longtime friends. Now they’re also business partners, in what they are calling the perfect venture: Starting a basketball team.

Along with other celebrity investors, Lachey and DiScala announced Tuesday the formation of the Hollywood Fame, a new team that will join the American Basketball Association (ABA). The Fame will launch its inaugural season in November with home games at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

[NOTE: The Truth has included a link to the ABA official site to prove we are not making this up]

Tryouts for the reborn league’s newest franchise were held on Tuesday, and another round is planned for September to fill any remaining spots on the squad. Cheerleaders will also be hired, much to the delight of Lachey, who is loving life on the rebound. Sure, he’s supposedly going steady with MTV VJ Vanessa Minnillo… but for how long?

“We’re excited about the Hollywood Fame bringing highly skilled basketball players to the fans of Los Angeles… We are creating a unique family entertainment option at affordable prices,” DiScala, the former husband and manager of Sopranos actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, said in a statement.

According to the ABA, the league will see more than 60 teams beginning play in November, including teams in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

Other Fame owners include actor Geoff Stults (7th Heaven and The Break-Up), Dancing With the Stars’ Stacy Keibler, NBA legend John Salley, former Major League Baseball All-Star Brady Anderson, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Kyle Boller and NASCAR’s Brian Vickers.

While we like Nick and wish him the best, whoever had the brilliant idea to enlist a washed-up, steroids-fiending ex-ballplayer AND the worst quarterback in NFL history ought to be banned from all future business deals. You’re telling me they couldn’t get Nick’s buddy Matt Leinart in on this instead? What gives? This team might as well be called the Hollywood B-List.

In the Rose Bowl, he was forced to call the Texas Longhorns his daddy. Now former USC quarterback Matt Leinart is going to be a daddy.

Leinart, 23, who graduated from USC in December 2005 and was the first round draft pick of the Arizona Cardinals this spring, has been enjoying the life of a typical college student, partying hard and canoodling with many ladies.

A close friend of Nick Lachey and one of People’s 50 Most Beautiful People of 2006, Leinart has been linked romantically to Paris Hilton, Kristin Cavallari and others. But his baby’s mama is Brynn Cameron (above), a 20-year-old USC junior and member of the school’s basketball team. She plans to sit out the upcoming season.

“It’s an exciting time in their life. They have support from their families,” a source tells People.

Leinart and Cameron dated while both were at USC but broke up last year, according to the Ventura County Star. Yet according to Sports Truth math, they’ve apparently been together in some capacity since then. Are we wrong?

“It might not be the best timing in the world, but we are obviously very happy to have a new baby in the family,” Cameron’s father, Stan, told the Star. “Brynn just found out about a month ago and told the team on Monday… Brynn does not want to get married. She wants to finish school and let Matt do his thing and then figure it out.”

While this wouldn’t appear to be good news for Leinart’s football career, reports out of Arizona say the 2004 Heisman Trophy winner has already roared past John Navarre on the depth chart and is a backup the coaching staff has confidence in if something should happen to Kurt Warner.

“He’s very comfortable on how to go out and play the game,” coach Dennis Green said.

Playing in a pro-style offense at USC has hastened Leinart’s development, as he has appeared comfortable and poised on the field at a time when most rookies are drowning in uncertainty.

A self-described playbook junkie, Leinart immersed himself in Arizona’s offensive schemes even before his agent hammered out the terms of his contract with the team. Unlike his ex, Paris, it appears this guy knows where to draw the line between partying and responsibility. Sort of.

Manny Ramirez and I both relocated to Boston in 2001, following transitional phases in Cleveland and Upstate New York, respectively. While the Red Sox outfielder makes roughly $19,965,000 more each year than I do, I may care more about whether or not Boston wins, so we’ll call it a wash.

In short, the Manny Ramirez era has been awe-inspiring, often infuriating, and always entertaining. He makes us laugh on a daily basis (at him as well as with him), he helped make us champions, and he’s made us cry more than a few times.

With #24 under contract for two more years (more than that if the Red Sox were to pick up a few option years — about as likely as Matt Clement picking up a win), but destined to wind up on the trading block again this off-season, I can’t help but look back on a six-year span that may, in many dubious and statistical ways, never be equaled.

Here’s a brief Manny retrospective, 2001-present, as seen through one Boston fan’s eyes:

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April 13, 2001 – In his first month with Boston, fresh off signing that eight-year, $160-million deal, Manny rips a base hit up the middle in 10th inning against the Yankees, giving the Sox a 3-2 win. Jubilant Sox fans overreact; my best friend, a devout Yankee fan, merely laughs.

December 10, 2001 — Ramírez claims he is uncomfortable in his first season with Boston, prompting the team’s new ownership to create a separate interview room, to “ease his transition” with the Sox. Having not received any separate interview rooms or other transition-easing tools during my last career change, this writer feels slighted.

May 18, 2002 — During a rehab start with AAA Pawtucket, Ramirez manages to lose his diamond earring sliding into third base. A baker’s dozen PawSox players on the hands and knees, along with the Syracuse, N.Y., grounds crew, were unable to recover it despite combing the third base area after the game. The diamond was worth $15,000, roughly an hour’s salary.

September 2, 2002 — Manny requests song “Good Times” by Styles P, which contains obscene lyrics and references to marijuana, to be played as his “intro music” over the Fenway Park PA. That same week, Manny hits a soft ground ball in a game against Tampa Bay, then turns around and walks back to the dugout without running to first base.

September 29, 2002 — On the last day of the regular season, Ramirez pinch hits at Fenway to a standing ovation for winning the AL batting title. My Yankee-loving friend, unimpressed with the aloof oddball (despite his .349 average), stands up and yells “$20 million dollars!” Manny walks on four pitches, is replaced by Rickey Henderson, and saunters back to the dugout.

August 30, 2003 – In the heat of the AL Wild Card race, Ramírez is seen at a bar with his friend, and, at that time Yankees infielder, Enrique Wilson. This in spite of the fact that he asked to be pulled from the Sox lineup because of a sore throat that week. Ramírez missed his doctors’ appointment at Fenway Park the next morning.

October 6, 2003 — Manny’s sixth-inning, three-run shot off Barry Zito gives Boston a 4-1 lead in Game Five of the ALDS against Oakland. His saunter to first base enrages A’s shortstop Miguel Tejada. Boston holds on to win, 4-3, after a stomach-churning, ninth-inning near-collapse. Often overlooked, but easily one of the most exciting wins in Red Sox history.

May 11, 2004 — Waving a miniature U.S. flag as runs out to his position in left field, Ramirez (left) celebrates his newfound U.S. citizenship, which he was granted at a naturalization ceremony in Miami the day before. Displaying the exuberance he would carry throughout the 2004 season after nearly being traded for Alex Rodriguez the previous winter, a happy Manny made that a day to remember for all in attendance.

October 27, 2004 (above, right) — Capping off an incredible year, in which he led the American League in home runs (43), slugging percentage (.613) and OPS (1.009) while hitting .308, Ramirez is named World Series MVP as the Red Sox sweep St. Louis for their first title in 86 grueling seasons. Despite two ghastly errors in the series opener, Manny helps carry the team to a four-game annihilation of the Cards, hitting 7-17 with a home run, four RBIs and three walks.

Undetermined Period, 2004-2005: Given the affable Dominican’s increasingly strange behavior, “Manny Being Manny” enters New England lexicon. Not sure who coined this, but it’s up there with Hahvard Yahd these days.

Undetermined Period, 2004-2005: With Saddam Hussein on trial for war crimes, and crazily pointing at every prosecutor and witness in sight, someone photoshops the former Iraqi dictator and the smiling Red Sox slugger pointing at one another. It’s not unfunny.

July 14, 2005 — The first batter in the first game of a key series at Fenway, Derek Jeter, hits a flare to shallow left. Ramirez attempts to slide, unnecessarily, and make a diving grab. He awkwardly misses by two feet, but nonchalantly jogs back to retrieve the ball and throw out Jeter, who tried to stretch his “double” into a triple. As the boos bizarrely turn to cheers in a span of seconds, Ramirez flashes a smile and gives the fans in left some trademark finger pointing.

July 18, 2005 – Ramirez leaves the field to go inside the Green Monster for a bathroom break while Red Sox pitching coach Dave Wallace visited the mound. Ramirez barely makes it out in time for Wade Miller’s next pitch.

July 31, 2005 – Having been pulled from the lineup for two games, because as manager Terry Francona puts it, he “needed to clear his head,” Manny enters the game versus the Minnesota Twins as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the eighth inning. Receiving a standing ovation less than an hour after the trade deadline passed, Manny chops an RBI single up the middle for the game-winning hit. “Forget about the trade man. This is the place I want to be man. It’s great man,” he said afterward. “They love me here man. This is the place to be. ‘Manny Being Manny,’ it’s great man.”

October 1, 2005 (right) – After blasting a mammoth home run over the Monster seats in left against rival New York, Ramirez points skyward in celebration. It was the first inning. The Yankees would go on to soundly defeat Boston that afternoon and claim their 340th consecutive AL East crown.

Spring 2006 — After reportedly demanding a trade, Ramirez agrees to sell many items from his home to a collector. When the memorabilia dealer shows up at Manny’s downtown Boston penthouse, naturally, Manny informs him that he’s “not going anywhere.”

August 18-21, 2006 — Even as the rest of the team implodes in a five-game sweep, Ramirez goes 8-11 with two homers, seven RBIs and nine walks vs. the Yankees. For those of you scoring at home, that’s an on-base percentage of .850. Even the superb leadoff hitter on my slow-pitch softball team, who I think has gotten out about six times all year, can’t touch that.

August 24, 2006 — Pluto is stripped of its planetary status and replaced in the solar system by the faraway destination of Planet Manny. Okay, so I made this one up. It might as well be true.

Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France seven times … in a row! That’s a lot. But can he even win the New York City Marathon once?

That’s the question two of our panelists cover this week, as they consider just how much stamina remains in Lance’s tank. Ask yourself, sports fans:

Can Lance Armstrong actually win the NYC Marathon?

Is running really that different than cycling? A world class marathoner is presumably in superior physical shape, with tremendous lower-body strength and endurance. Hmm. These seem like reachable hurdles for the best athlete on Earth.
As incredible as the accomplishments of world-class runners are, let’s face it - there’s no skill involved. Marathoners practice hard and run really fast for hours. The best conditioned entrant wins. End of story.

I’m not insinuating that running marathons isn’t challenging. Far from it. The only running I do is to the nearest Dunkin Donuts (which isn’t far in any direction here in New England). I’m just saying that if focal points of an event are drive and endurance, only a fool would question Lance. He is not trying to hit curveballs or sink three-pointers.

We’re talking about racing toward a finish line far, far away, something Armstrong is pretty familiar with. Not to mention good at. Studies have shown that his inordinately high anaerobic threshold allows him to sustain muscle performance for longer periods of time.

And come on. Do you really think anyone can beat Armstrong when he puts his mind and body toward conquering a new challenge? You think he can’t decide to run circles around a bunch of amateurs after dispatching elite cyclists and advanced cancer over the course of a decade? Think defending champ Paul Tergat likes his chances to repeat?

Did anyone outside of East Africa know who Paul was before I dropped his name 10 seconds ago? Of course not. He’s a mortal. Armstrong is Roger Federer, Pedro Martinez (circa 1999), Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods rolled into one.

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A man charged with impersonating Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to pick up girls has now been accused of stealing $3,200 from a different woman… by telling her he was a different Steelers player on the team, tight end Jerame Tuman.

Brian Jackson, 32, was charged with theft by deception for borrowing the money and not paying it back. The woman lent the money to Jackson because she believed he was Tuman, the Pittsburgh District Attorney’s office said.

In 2005, Jackson was charged with impersonating Roethlisberger (pictured) and Brian St. Pierre, then the Steelers‘ backup, to date women. Wherever Brian St. Pierre is, he’s probably wondering why he never thought of posing as Big Ben to get chicks.

Jackson was ordered to undergo psychological counseling and sentenced to 30 days in jail after pleading guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct.

When the woman learned Tuman was not the man she had met, a team official helped her find a news article about Jackson, and she recognized him right away as man she had dated, authorities said. Jackson faces a felony charge that is punishable by up to seven years in prison.

The woman said she met Jackson in March and that he introduced himself as Tuman. Over the next four weeks, Jackson borrowed money after telling her various tales. The woman said she lent Jackson $200 after he told her he misplaced his wallet and needed some quick cash so he could accompany his Steelers teammates to a West Virginia race track and casino.

In early April, Jackson told the woman that his ex-wife or girlfriend had frozen his bank accounts in a child-support dispute. When she offered to write him a check, he asked for cash and got $1,800.

Later that month, Jackson told the woman that he wanted to “treat” himself to new rims for his truck. The woman said she lent him money after Jackson told her he could not use his credit card because it could be used against him in the supposed child-support dispute.

How will this impact your fantasy football draft? It won’t, unless you accidentally choose this Jackson dude instead of Roethlisberger.

Tiger Woods is good. No, Tiger Woods is awesome. No, Tiger Woods is sick-ill-nasty. And Tiger Woods is probably going to be considered the greatest golfer to ever play the game when all is said and done.

But I’m not ready to give him the crown yet.

Supposedly he’s just hitting his prime in golf years. Tiger Woods has been in his prime since he left the womb. It doesn’t matter where Tiger plays or who his competition is, if he wants to win, he will. But until Tiger wins seven more majors to pass Jack Nicklaus (18) and thirty-one more tournaments total to pass Sam Snead (82) for the all-time record, we can’t call him the greatest ever. Not yet at least.

Too many things could happen to Tiger in the meantime. The names Ricky Williams, David Duval and Sammy Sosa come to mind. I just refuse to jump on the bandwagon of everyone proclaiming and comparing current sports stars to past legends. Let the athletes play and the wannabe TV stars/sports writers argue until the cows come home. They can waste their time, but not mine.