The Smart Money Is on the Soccer Guy

On one side, there’s the man who thrilled soccer fans with his dazzling runs, back in the days when he was with AC Milan. On the other, there’s a respected World Bank economist.

Edge, soccer.

It’s little wonder that former star striker George Weah garnered most of the pre-election coverage in the quest to become president of his troubled West African country, Liberia. One supporter held up a sign during a rally that said: “George Weah is the Messiah.”

Then there was this endorsement from Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who told the newspaper Il Giornale: “I have never stopped being his fan. I appreciated him on the soccer field and now I appreciated him in this new challenge.”

Ballots are still being counted, and though Weah leads with about 30% of the vote, he appears headed toward a runoff against Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a former finance minister and Harvard-trained economist and grandmother.

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Trivia time: When was Weah named FIFA’s Footballer of the Year?

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Money ball: San Francisco Chronicle columnist Scott Ostler, on a certain 16-year-old golfer who just turned pro:

“Michelle Wie already has $10 million in endorsement deals. Which means her allowance is $192,307 a week. Minus a buck every time she forgets to make her bed.

“Sure to be a big seller is the new driver Wie is endorsing -- the Big Barbie.”

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Answer man: GQ magazine correspondent Lisa DePaulo caught Oakland Raider receiver Randy Moss in a decent mood the other day. Well, relatively decent.

Q: “Are you better than Jerry Rice?”

Moss: “Girl, you are crazy!”

Q: “Terrell Owens?”

Moss: “I’m the best wide receiver in this league.”

In the same interview, Moss said that, post-NFL, he wants to get going on the long list of things he hasn’t been able to do. “... Like, tailgate a football game or, you know, watch my kids play sports. Just relax and spend money. That’s all.”

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Hull truth: Kelly Chase, now a Blues’ radio analyst, recalled the days of waiting and waiting and waiting for his autograph-signing buddy Brett Hull.

Hull, who announced his retirement from the NHL on Saturday, played 11 memorable, and often tumultuous, seasons in St. Louis. “I’d be either sound asleep or on my third beer at the bar by the time he got done signing,” Chase told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

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Act II: North Carolina basketball Coach Roy Williams, speaking at media day last week, was asked if winning the national title in April changed his life.

“Not much and I’m being very sincere,” he said. “I made the decision not to take a lot of speaking or a lot of appearances so I took none.... More people yelled at me going through the airports. That was the biggest change. I really don’t think I’ve changed at all.... The difference is the way people look at you.”

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Trivia answer: 1995.

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And finally: Former Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova of Russia, on the traffic jams in Moscow: “I think it’s worse than in Los Angeles.”