Don’t tell them golf isn’t a sport

Bonds tops Aaron!

Before the asterisks come flying from all directions, that was merely in Golf Digest’s rankings of the best athlete-golfers.

Barry Bonds tees off at 172; Hank Aaron is tied for 209th -- though that might improve since he declared he would focus on his golf game rather than be present when Bonds broke his home run record.

The list of 216 nonprofessional golfers may have been an effort to patch a divot from 2004, when an ESPN poll ranked golf near the bottom of the most demanding sports -- behind fencing, badminton and table tennis.

“I thought golfers were overweight, and just seeing them walking around and hitting a ball you don’t think there’s much to it,” said tennis champion Ivan Lendl, who is tied at No. 81 on the list. “The more I play, I understand how difficult it is.”

Oh, it can be difficult. Just imagine being in a foursome with Joe Theismann (No. 27), Terry Bradshaw (No. 54) and Boomer Esiason (tied for No. 100). How to putt with that much hot air blowing?

Difficulty hardly seems to matter to the true believers, anyway.

Said former NFL quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver (tied for No. 8): “Golf is like sex. You don’t have to be an athlete to do it. And you don’t have to be good at it to enjoy it.”

Trivia time

Who is the career leader in victories on the celebrity golf tour?

King of the links

The Kings’ Michael Cammalleri, ranked No. 18, is the top active Los Angeles athlete on the Golf Digest list. (The Ducks’ Teemu Selanne might have made it, but he loses two months of practice every year because his team reaches the Stanley Cup playoffs.)

The list also includes:

No. 63 Peyton Manning -- Yet another sport in which he is better than his brother.

No. 107 Mike Eruzione -- What else has he done but golf since scoring that goal against the Russians?

No. 158 Oscar De La Hoya -- Maybe he should switch from the ring to the links Saturday in Vegas; Floyd Mayweather Jr. is not on the list.

Red (faced) nation

Tremors reverberated through Boston on Thursday. Roger Clemens signed? Bucky Dent seen lunching with Bill Buckner?

Nope. It was the Boston Herald photo showing New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in New York sporting (gulp) ... a Yankees cap.

“We know that Tom has an array of Red Sox caps from which to choose,” a Red Sox team spokesman told the Herald. “But we fully respect that he needed to wear a suitable disguise for his own health and protection. We don’t doubt that he’s a card-carrying member of Red Sox Nation.”

Judge not

The Buffalo Sabres didn’t get what they believed was a game-tying goal against the New York Rangers on Tuesday. Replay officials at the game and NHL officials in Toronto ruled video evidence was inconclusive, so a higher court was asked.

New York State Supreme Court Justice Kevin M. Dillon delivered a ruling from an imaginary bench Wednesday, saying, “I think the circumstantial evidence was overwhelming that it was a goal.”

Next Dillon could be asked to rule if Brett Hull was illegally in the crease on his game-winning goal against the Sabres in the 1999 Cup finals, or to overturn Super Bowl victories by the New York Giants (1991), Washington Redskins (1992) and Dallas Cowboys (1993, 1994).

Trivia answer

Former Dodgers pitcher Rick Rhoden has won 50 tournaments -- after winning 42 games with the Dodgers.

And finally ...

From David Letterman’s Top 10 Signs Fidel Castro is Fully Recovered:

“In NFL draft, was picked ahead of Brady Quinn.”

chris.foster@latimes.com