Looks Like a Category for the Next ESPY Show

ESPN.com recently released its list of the 10 most overrated athletes of all time, with the disclaimer that “they weren’t as great as we’d like to remember, or as we wanted them to be.”

No. 1 on the list was Joe Namath because of “some surprisingly lousy career stats to consider: 173 touchdown passes, 220 interceptions.” No. 3 was Lynn Swann because he’s “not in the top 50 in any major career receiving category.” Nolan Ryan -- “2,795 walks and 292 career losses” -- was No. 7 and Pete Rose was No. 8 because he “kept himself in the game five years after he should have retired.”

Also receiving votes were Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax.

Morning Briefing is just passing this along, so don’t shoot (angry e-mails at) the messenger.

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Trivia time: During a tirade after his 1978 resignation, New York Yankee manager Billy Martin said, “One’s a born liar, the other’s convicted.” Who was he talking about?

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Pain game: Seve Ballesteros, who has suffered several back injuries during his career, said he has noticed changes to Tiger Woods’ swing since his knee surgery late last year.

“Tiger looks different to me,” he told Golf magazine. “After an injury, you don’t go 100%. Your mind is waiting for discomfort and that changes your swing.

“When you’re in your early 20s, you can take the violent swing. It starts to get tough in your late 20s ... and it never gets easier.”

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Is Seve right? Consider these stats: Woods is tied for 19th on the PGA Tour in driving distance and is 119th in driving accuracy.

His numbers -- he’s averaging 295 yards a drive and is hitting 65% of the fairways -- would rank 37th and 77th on the Nationwide Tour.

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Looking up: As a youth in Cleveland, Bob Hope boxed for a short time under the name Packy East.

Hope liked to say of his ill-fated career as a pugilist: “I was on more canvases than Picasso.”

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Silver and banned: USA Today reports that the San Francisco 49ers have the typical training-camp rules for fans -- no cell phones, don’t ask for autographs until after practice, etc. -- but they also have “appropriate dress” regulations:

“Shirts and shoes required. Please refrain from wearing any distracting or inappropriate apparel while on the field. Raider apparel will be burned on sight.”

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Must be nice: If you’re considering moving, maybe you’ll want to hang on to the old digs instead of selling.

That’s the route Mark Philippoussis has taken and he seems happy. He left Florida for Cardiff-by-the-Sea in northern San Diego County because he loves to surf. But after losing the Wimbledon final, he took his five-acre Delray Beach ranch off the market.

He still intends to spend as much time as possible riding waves in California, but he’s going to add a grass court to the array of clay- and hard-court surfaces at his Florida pad and keep it as a “training center.”

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Trivia answer: Reggie Jackson and George Steinbrenner.

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And finally: Minnesota Viking defensive tackle Chris Hovan offers this bit of self-analysis: “I’ve got long hair and tattoos.... I know I’m a dumb idiot, but, hey, I love me, and that’s all that matters.”