NBA commissioner David Stern commented this week on Carmelo Anthony's recent scrapes with USA basketball coach Larry Brown and the law - a New York City nightclub scuffle and a marijuana citation.

ALL THUMBS

Thumbs up The Election The World Series? The Super Bowl? The Final Four? Got nothin' on this. Be aggressive, go on the offensive. Back on your heels? Change the defense. And best of all, as the baseball bromide goes, if you're not cheating, you're not trying! The Bengals It's wonderful that life in our fair town is better, thanks to the striped men's epic victory over the Broncos. (The blimp was here!) But there is work to be done. Last Sunday's NFL underdog winners included Miami, Detroit, San Diego, Arizona and New Orleans, and the seven-point underdog Browns had 5-0 Philadelphia on the ropes. It happens. If the Bengals go belly up against the Titans, what difference did the Broncos win make? The Red Sox Reds fans, there is hope. The Curse ended in Boston with a title for the first time since 1918. Shoot, 1990 doesn't seem all that long ago at all, does it? Mel Kiper Finally, the draft guru and ESPN have worked out their contract differences. Who would have told us how good Akili Smith was? Thumbs down Ohio State-Michigan How could they pass on a corporate sponsor? It would have been great: Welcome to the Buckeyes' season-ending, season-ruining, inexplicable yearly loss, brought to you by ... The Lakers Another NBA season is upon us, but no Phil Jackson or Shaq. In his new book, Jackson said the millions of dollars and adoration spoiled Kobe and Shaq. Imagine that. The Florida Gators Ron Zook, you're fired. Would you mind just staying for the rest of the season? Good ol' amateur athletics. Vijay Singh You have to travel the world to win the all-time golf single-season earnings total? Gosh. Wouldn't it have been easier to be a bench player in the NBA or in baseball? --Mike Ball

Stern referred to the problems as "an educational summer," which is kind of like calling The Texas Chainsaw Massacre an "educational" film.

You say goodbye, I say hello

After the University of Florida fired football coach Ron Zook this week, athletic director Jeremy Foley asked the coach to stay on for the remaining four games ... and Zook agreed!

Is it just us, or is sports the only forum in which you can pull off something like this? Can you imagine having a girl break up with you, then asking you to watch her kids while she goes out to look for a new boyfriend? Can you imagine agreeing to it?

Sarcastic snapper

Asked for his take on the Florida firing this week, long snapper Casey Griffith gave the following response to the Orlando Sentinel: "Don't tell anyone I told you this. But someone inside the system told me they heard we're going to be playing against Georgia this weekend. I haven't seen anything in the newspapers yet, but I heard they've even sold some tickets for it."

Lede of the week

This by Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe:

ST. LOUIS -- They did it for the old folks in Presque Isle, Maine, and White River Junction, Vt. They did it for the baby boomers in North Conway, N.H., and Groton, Mass. They did it for the kids in Central Falls, R.I., and Putnam, Conn.

While church bells rang in small New England towns and horns honked on the crowded streets of the Hub, the 2004 Red Sox last night won the 100th World Series, completing a four-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals with a 3-0 victory on the strength of seven innings of three-hit pitching by Derek Lowe. Playing 1,042 miles from Fenway Park, the Sox won it all for the first time in 86 long and frustrating seasons.

Palmeir-who?

Rafael Palmeiro, who's apparently 10th in Major League Baseball history with 551 career home runs, agreed to a one-year contract this week with the Baltimore Orioles. Tenth? He's ahead of The Mick, Teddy Ballgame, Mike Schmidt, Willie McCovey and Ernie Banks. How is that possible?