The real story of last nite was that Rocker faced three hitters and got all of them out on 18 pitches. He has not been doing that very often this year. And last nite's victory for the Bravos means that the worst they can do when the leave NY is to be tied for first place in the Division.

Meanwhile, across town, the Yankees went from shopping at Neiman-Marcus to shopping at K-Mart. They couldn't get a deal done for and with Juan Gonzales who has been MVP twice. They couldn't get a deal done with the Cubs for Sammy Sosa who in an off-year will hit 50 homeruns. So they traded for David Justice whose best days are behind him. I mean "best days" in the baseball sense AND in the marital sense since Halle Berry told him to take a hike.

The execs who run MLB got one right and that is a news story in and of itself. Normally these guys cannot get out of their own way but yesterday Paul Beeston overturned the suspensions of twelve LA Dodgers who were involved in the "fan altercation" in Wrigley field. Frank Robinson had gone waaay round the bend on this one and handed out long suspensions to participants who were guilty of trying to separate combatants or of trying to keep would-be combatants from getting near one another. Seems to me I remember from somewhere that someone once said something like, "Blessed are the peacemakers…" Frank must have slept through that class.

Bill Guthridge will resign as coach of UNC. In three years he has been to the Final Four and has a record of 80-28 which ain't bad. He is staying on at UNC in some capacity to fulfill the final two years of his contract and this opens up a "prime job" that will attract lots of coaches. It ain't easy following a legend. Ask Phil Bengston and "Clean Gene" Bartow.

Many coaches would crawl on their hands and knees over broken glass to coach in Chapel Hill. "Little Ricky" Pitino would love for them to look outside the Tar Heel family; Larry Brown could hit the exacta and coach at his alma mater AND leave Allen Iverson behind in another zip code; Roy Williams can return to his alma mater as could Matt Doherty, Geroge Karl, Billy Cunningham and a host of others. Wait to hear Dick Vitale on this story; he will run off a list of names that will include everyone except D.B. Cooper.

Wimbledon ratings will go in the tank now that Anna Kournikova is out of the tournament. No mystery here since she has never won a tournament. Bud Collins got it right when he said that all the interest in Anna is because she has a lovely backhand and a lovely backside. Yes Bud said that. Isn't it good to know that his eyesight has not gone yet?

DeShawn Stevenson was drafted out of high school by the Utah Jazz in the first round on Wednesday night. Last night he was in a fight after an all-star game and was described by one of the 'talking heads" as an "active participant". The Jazz need to get his butt onto Karl Malone's ranch in Utah where Karl can show this kid what it means to be an NBA player. And they need to do it quickly. Does the name Leon Smith from last year ring any bells???

In the Greater Hartford Open, you have a field that is about as pathetic as the Kemper Open here in Washington. Quick, who won the Kemper Open? No one that matters! And in this field of also-rans, we have one person who has set himself apart from the pack. At the end of the first round, Joe Cordani is 23 strokes off the lead after shooting an opening round 87.

Memo to Joe: Save a couple of bucks and check out of the motel Friday morning. You will not need to stay in the area this weekend.

They will compete for the pro basketball fans' money with the Wizards who charge $80 a seat to see meaningless games played by lazy players. It is not hard to stay away from the MCI Center after seeing the Wizards once.

They may be able to claim they are the best basketball team in this area if the University of Maryland has an off-year.

Anyway, the Redskins are arguing that the law that allows the Patent Office to make these determinations is unconstitutional because it is "vague" and because it violates free expression. What is "vague" about not having an offensive name? That is perfectly clear; the problem is what is offensive? We know that the only thing offensive about the Redskins DL last year was its body odor, but what else constitutes "offensive"? If they lose that part of the argument but prevail in their argument that it violates the free expression provisions of the Constitution, MLB will be most happy that Marge Schott is no longer the owner of the Reds. That could have given her the green light to rename the Reds as the Cincy Brown Shirts or the Stormtroopers and to use a Hitler mascot. Not a lot of marketing potential for MLB there!

But don't get me wrong, I love sports...