By BOB MATTHEWS
Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle

As The Sports World Turns: Annika Sorenstam soon will play the most-anticipated, probably the most-scrutinized and possibly the most-watched round in the history of women's golf.

Las Vegas has posted an over-under of 76.5 for Sorenstam's opening round in the PGA Tour's Colonial tournament May 22 in Fort Worth, Texas. She is averaging 68.88 on the LPGA Tour so far this year on much shorter and less challenging courses than she'll be tackling against the men.

This observer is among those who will be surprised if Annika makes the cut at the Colonial. Under the circumstanves - carrying the banner for the LPGA and with the eyes of the golf world focused directly on her - shooting below 76 or below on May 22 would be a major achievement in a relatively minor tournament.

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For the first time in baseball history, the best power hitter and arguably best pitcher began a season a combined 77 years old. Barry Bonds will turn 39 on July 24 and Randy Johnson will turn 40 on Sept. 10.

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Tampa Bay Devil Rays Lou Piniella is one of the few managers in baseball history who is his team's major asset and gate attraction. Unfortunately for Piniella, he might also be the only 59-year-old manager who could improve his team if he put himself in the lineup.

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Major League Baseball never would admit it, but when one player has a higher salary than an entire opposing team, the sport has a big problem: Texas shortstop Alex Rodriguez earns $22 million a year and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays team payroll is $19.6 million. ARod couldn't beat the Devil Rays all by himself. He'd need at least a pitcher and a catcher.

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Derek Jeter's injury might help the Boston Red Sox stay in the AL East pennant race deeper into September, but his New York Yankees are so loaded that they could probably make the playoffs - at least as the AL wild card - if owner George Steinbrenner played shortstop for a month or so.

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Atlanta Braves cable TV broadcasts no longer refer to the Braves as "America's Team." Judging by declining ticket sales, they might not even be "Atlanta's Team."

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Winning the Presidents' Trophy for the NHL regular-season championship means nothing when the playoffs start. Since the trophy began in 1986, only six of the 17 teams with the best record in the regular season went on to win the Stanley Cup (including Colorado and Detroit the past two years).

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UCLA coaching legend John Wooden didn't hurt the chances of LeBron James being the No. 1 overall pick in the June NBA draft by saying James is better than any high school player he has ever seen other than Oscar Robertson.

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Everyone involved with the Washington Wizards seems to be down on second-year center Kwame Brown for his lack of production and poor work ethic. But it isn't his fault he was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft. There were safer picks available in a relatively weak draft (including Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, Troy Murphy, Richard Jefferson and Jason Richardson) but the Wizards decided to gamble. So far, it looks like they came up empty.

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If Los Angeles Lakers Shaquille O'Neal played all season the way he has the last three weeks, he'd have five or six regular-season NBA Most Valuable Player awards by now instead of only one.

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The two major U.S. sports weekly magazines will miss Michael Jordan. He has appeared on the most covers for Sports Illustrated (53) and The Sporting News (45).

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It doesn't seem logical that the postseason NIT basketball tournament has a consolation game (to determine which team is No. 68 and which is No. 69?) while the NCAA men's basketball tournament (to determine No. 3 and No. 4) does not.

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There have been seven different winning drivers in the seven NASCAR Winston Cup races this year. If the trend continues, the good news for Kodak No. 4 Pontiac's Mike Skinner (0-for-210 in his Winston Cup career) is that he might finally win. The bad news is that there are 42 full-time drivers and only 36 races on the 2003 schedule.

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Sad to say, Michelle Kwan seems fated to be remembered as the greatest figure skater never to win an Olympic gold medal. Her next opportunity would be in 2006 and that might be too long to wait.

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With a PBS documentary on April 21 and a probable family-oriented hit movie due out on July 25, America's most famous race horse before the summer ends figures to be Seabiscuit, who died 56 years ago.

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Only four of the NFL's 32 teams will make no prime-time TV appearances during the 2003 season, and the Arizona Cardinals, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions and Houston Texans are unlikely to make the league and networks look bad for bypassing them.