A Win-Some Quality Is All You Need These Days

As it turns out, Vince Lombardi was half right. In sports year 2003, winning isn’t everything -- in truth, it isn’t even the bare requirement for being No. 1 anymore.

Sunday in Rockingham, N.C., Matt Kenseth can wrap up the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup title, despite winning only one race all year, if he can protect 186 of the 228 points separating him from runner-up Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the circuit’s driver standings.

Kenseth hasn’t won a race since March, but because he finishes races and consistently racks up points, he leads Earnhardt in the standings, 4,828 points to 4,600. Earnhardt has won twice as many races in 2003. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, third and fourth in the standings, have each won three times. Ryan Newman has won eight races this year, but because of wrecks that prevented him from finishing races and accruing points, Newman is relegated to a distant fifth place.

With TNT providing live coverage of the Pop Secret 400 (Sunday, 10 a.m.), Kenseth can clinch the title by maintaining a lead of at least 186 points.

Or, if he wants to draw it out to the season’s final race in Miami on Nov. 16 -- and NBC is hoping he does -- all Kenseth needs to do to win the championship is finish 30th or better in each of his last two races.

And so, Kenseth continues his plundering of the Al Davis playbook with his new motivational credos:

Commitment To Somewhere Up In The Pack.

Just Finish, Baby.

Likewise, Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh can conclude their joust for PGA player of the year by not winning the season-ending Tour Championship in Houston, coverage provided by ABC and ESPN. Winning would be nice, but it’s not necessary.

Woods and Singh are the front-runners for the award, which is determined by a players’ vote. They have assumed this position by going a combined 0 for 8 at major tournaments this year.

Their 2003 seasons at a glance?

Woods: Worst performance in majors since 1998.

Singh: Wettest blanket on Annika Sorenstam’s parade.

However, they have won enough of the minors (Woods five, Singh four) to top the money list and the fans’ polls. A USA Today online poll favored Woods over Singh as player of the year, 50% to 28%. Masters champion Mike Weir received 11% of the vote, U.S. Open winner Jim Furyk 5%. The same question on ESPN’s Web site produced these results: Woods 51.8%, Singh 26.4%, Weir 12%, Furyk 4.1%.

Coming close -- it’s not just for horseshoes and hand grenades anymore.

Also available for viewing in the days ahead:

TODAY

* UCLA at Washington State

(Channel 7, 4 p.m.)

Once, not long ago, the Bruins were 4-0 in the Pacific 10 and dreaming of the Rose Bowl. Then they lost to Stanford, which was 0-4 in conference play, and now they get Washington State, at home and still stinging from last week’s 43-16 loss to USC. Basketball season starts pretty soon, right?

* Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh

(ESPN, 4:45 p.m.)

Who’s the best receiver in college football? With Mike Williams and USC taking the day off, Pitt’s Larry Fitzgerald gets to state his case with the floor to himself.

* “Saturday Night Live”

(Channel 4, 11:30 p.m.)

Andy Roddick won a tennis tournament in New York a couple of months back. The people who book guest hosts for “Saturday Night Live” read about it in the tabloids. So Roddick becomes only the second tennis pro to host SNL. The first was Chris Evert, in 1989. She wasn’t bad. In fact, she was memorable -- in one skit running to the ends of the Earth in a vain, and very funny, attempt to escape her relentless rival, Martina Navratilova, played by Nora Dunn.

Roddick could do a lot worse. And in case he does, the people who book “Saturday Night Live” have also lined up the Dave Matthews Band.

SUNDAY

* Cleveland Browns at Kansas City Chiefs

(Channel 2, 10 a.m.)

So, how good are the Chiefs? In a CBS Sports release, analyst Dan Dierdorf said that their fans “should celebrate the fact that they are 8-0. And isn’t life great? Because all you have to do is look at your opponent this week and realize life isn’t great everywhere.” Dierdorf said he doesn’t believe the Chiefs rate with such past greats as the 1985 Bears or the 1970s Steelers, but added, “The reality is, this is 2003 in the National Football League and the Chiefs are as good as any team in the NFL. There are five or six teams that are on a level all by themselves -- the Chiefs are certainly one of those teams.”

So hats off to the Chiefs. Although the Browns should probably keep theirs on.

* New York Jets at Oakland Raiders

(Channel 2, 1:15 p.m.)

If you had a fantasy football team with Rick Mirer at starting quarterback backed up by Rob Johnson, you wouldn’t get out of bed. Unfortunately for Raider Coach Bill Callahan, he doesn’t have that option.

* Baltimore Ravens at St. Louis Rams

(ESPN, 5:30 p.m.)

A week ago, USA Today Sports Weekly put Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt on its cover, along with this insight: “The Rams’ vertical passing game is back, making them the favorite in the NFC.” Then the Rams lost to the 49ers in San Francisco, 30-10, making them the first victims of the USA Today Sports Weekly cover jinx.

* Galaxy at San Jose Earthquakes

(Channel 22, 6 p.m.)

The Galaxy won the first leg, 2-0, which means it will advance to the MLS semifinals if it doesn’t lose the second leg by more than one goal. Once again: Coming close is good enough.

MONDAY

* WTA Tour Championships Final

(ESPN2, 7 p.m.)

No Serena. No Venus. No Lindsay. And now, a prime-time Monday final going head-to-head against the Eagles and the Packers on ABC. The sudden loss of star power couldn’t have been anticipated, but “Monday Night Football” has been around awhile. What’s the motto for this tournament again? “Eight Women. Six Days. Three Million Dollars. And No One Awake At The Wheel.”