Early Exits by U.S. Men Ruffle His Feathers

Woody Paige of the Denver Post commenting on the exits of the 14 American men in singles at Wimbledon: “U-S-A became U-S Adieu, U-S Arrivederci, U-S Aloha, U-S Cheerio, U-S-Outtahere ...

“I think I can speak for all American men. We are appalled, ashamed and feeling angst for our own kind. We didn’t get anybody in the round of 16 at the most important tennis tournament in the world

“We’re a bunch of ground-stroking, second-serving, throat-grabbing, thumb-sucking tennis wimps.”

Trivia time: Who had the higher scoring average, Elgin Baylor or Jerry West?

Listen up: In an interview with Jeff D’Alessio of Florida Today, billionaire owner Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks was asked to give his best business tip: “If you own a stock that doesn’t pay dividends, sell it immediately. If you want to start a business, don’t raise money. Use your blood, sweat and brains instead.”

Easier task: Steve Rosenbloom in the Chicago Tribune: “The NBA will bring in instant replay next season. Commissioner David Stern wants to take ‘referees off the hook’ and let them get back to concentrating on not calling fouls on superstars.”

Offended: Lennox Lewis is no fan of “Rocky” films, saying: “They project an image that all boxers are like duh and dose, like we are all stupid. Most of us are very intelligent.”

Whatever you say, big fella.

Gentle reminder: During the NBA draft show on TNT, analysts Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley suggested Chinese center Yao Ming’s inability to understand English will be a problem for the Houston Rockets, especially at the end of games.

Said Stern: “You know, when Kenny and Charles first came into the league, they didn’t speak English, either.”

Motivation: “Jeff Gordon hasn’t won a race since Sept. 30 but insists his impending divorce has nothing too with his slump,” says Michael Ventre of MSNBC.com.

“Yet in an effort to recapture his old form, Gordon is considering a technique whereby he imagines his wife sitting in the passenger seat, insisting he stop for directions.”

Looking back: On this day in 1933, New York Giant pitchers Carl Hubbell (18) and Roy Parmelee (nine) combined for 27 scoreless innings in a doubleheader shutout of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Dollar-wise: Lesley Visser was billed as the Occidental Tourist a year and a half ago, when she visited Shanghai and interviewed Yao Ming for HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.”

“He only spoke to me once in English. The rest was through a translator,” Visser said. “I said to him, ‘You stand to earn great wealth. How do you think you’ll handle it?’ He said--and this was the only time he spoke English to me--I’ll get used to it.’ ”

Trivia answer: Baylor, barely, at 27.4 points to West’s 27.0.

And finally: Yankee owner George Steinbrenner said he was wrong to fire Yogi Berra, always a fan favorite, as manager early in the 1985 season.

“That was a mistake....It was poor judgment,” he said. “I don’t pretend to be perfect and I’m not. You could sit and write a huge volume about the mistakes I made.”