Media are breathless, and so is Beckham

Photos of an evidently out-of-shape David Beckham appear on the Daily Mail website, along with the headline: “Mind how you go old man . . . David Beckham left gasping for breath after rigorous training session with AC Milan.”

One photo shows Beckham, sporting a new tattoo on his inner left arm, bent over leaning against a chain-link fence and having his pulse taken by a concerned-looking team trainer. Beckham was in Dubai with his new Milan teammates preparing for a friendly match against the German club Hamburg SV on Tuesday.

The Mail reported that “after every 30-second bout of rigorous exercise he had to stop to recuperate.” The newspaper also quoted team doctor Jean-Pierre Meerseeman, who said earlier in the week that Beckham, 33, could play another five or six years -- that his basic fitness was excellent and “all he needs to do now is alter his training program slightly.”

Beckham expected a more intense experience once he left the Galaxy for a loan trial with Milan. But that was in reference to the matches, not the practice sessions.

Trivia time

Who is the godfather to Beckham’s sons Brooklyn and Romeo?

He, himself and him

Nominated for NFL teammate of the year: Baltimore Ravens running back Willis McGahee.

McGahee, who rushed for only 671 yards during an injury-plagued regular season, told reporters last week, “My season is over. [Since] Week 5, I haven’t done anything at all. It’s not like I’m going to get 1,000 yards, so I’m just playing my role.”

And: “Yeah, it’s over. It’s not like the season I normally have, so it’s over for me. That’s how I look at it.”

It’s not over for the Ravens, who went 9-2 down the stretch and have a wild-card game today against Miami. If McGahee’s season is over, he needs to inform Ravens officials. The team’s current depth chart has McGahee starting at running back.

Floating an idea

Singapore hasn’t exactly run out of land, but that didn’t stop city planners in the new Marina Bay development from building a soccer field in the bay -- a field that floats on water.

Onshore sits a 30,000-seat viewing section, but the field itself rests on the water, accessible by three ramps that lead to the stadium. The field is said to be sturdy enough to support 9,000 people and three military tanks, tanks of course being essential to the sport of on-the-water soccer.

Still unclear is what will be done about all the soccer balls sure to be kicked into the bay.

Trivia answer

Elton John.

And finally

Notre Dame basketball Coach Mike Brey, to the Chicago Tribune, comparing the Irish’s second-round opponent in the Maui Invitational with their second-game opponent during an August tour of Ireland: “Texas ain’t Poland.”

-- Mike Penner