Thumbs up

1. The Duncans. Moeller basketball star Josh Duncan announced he will attend Xavier next season. His parents helped keep the recruiting process low-key. He passed on the summer meat-market circuit and politely declined overtures from schools he had no interest in. Refreshing.

2. Steve Yzerman. The Red Wings star has signed on for his 21st season. That's a pretty impressive run for the NHL.

3. College football. And they're off! The holiday weekend will have had 38 games televised before all's said and done. Amazing. (And how about the MAC pulling off the first huge upset of the season, Northern Illinois over No. 15 Maryland?)

4. Phil Mickelson. Talking heads everywhere love to criticize him for his winless streak in the majors. They say he doesn't take his game seriously. Now they want to criticize him because he pitched batting practice to the Toledo Mud Hens and would like a chance on the mound. "I know I don't have the talent the players here do, but this is a lifetime dream," Mickelson said. Let the guy have a little fun.

5. The San Diego Padres. They're getting ready to move into their new ballpark next season. They streamlined payroll, then went out and traded for a hometown superstar in Pittsburgh's Brian Giles. Uh-oh. Why does that not sound so good all of a sudden?

Thumbs down

1. The NFL preseason. No, not because Michael Vick and Chad Pennington suffered serious injuries. That happens - it's football. Just too much time for the scrubs, for a full NFL price. That's wrong.

2. Bill Romanowski. He has taken the tough-guy NFL thing to a new low. It's cool he's mean, but ending a teammate's season with a sucker punch? How many incidents do you put up with?

3. The NCAA/Ohio State. Let's get this straight: Maurice Clarett is out for six games, or three, or as athletic director Andy Geiger said: "It's pretty clear that we're looking at a healthy number of games. Multiple. And you can define multiple as more than two." What?

4. The Reds. Where should we start? Bet those season-ticket holders had a blast filling out the questionnaires that were sent out last week. Ticket holders all over Reds country probably were trying to figure out how to spell Serafini.

5. Jon Drummond. The sprinter was upset about being disqualified in the 100 meters at the World Track and Field Championships. He walked around the track, gesturing to fans, laid on the ground and postponed the heat for 45 minutes. He returned to the track and promptly jumped into the steeplechase water pit. Ugly American in Paris.