Thankfully some players are acting their age

Tired of the law-breaking, me-first miscreants making NFL headlines these days?

David Whitley of the Orlando Sentinel discovered a most welcome diversion at the Pop Warner Junior Pee Wee title game at Disney's Wide World of Sports.

"It's always nice to go to a game and not worry that a gun is going to go off in a receiver's pants," he wrote. "And a running back is not going to pout over not getting the ball. Or one team isn't splitting apart because a nut job thinks the quarterback is conspiring against him."

Well, they are just kids — 9 to 11 years old.

"Before you know it, they'll get big and go into the real world," Whitley added. "You only hope they'll keep acting like adults.

"We already have enough adults acting like children."

Welcome to N.Y.

"Instead of worrying about being the Mets' closer," wrote Kevin Gleason of the Middletown (N.Y.) Times Herald-Record, "J.J. Putz should start worrying about what kind of cruel back-page word play the tabloids will have with his name after a bad game.

"You think the tabs will care that his name is pronounced 'Puts?' I don't either."

Envelope, please

The 0-14 Detroit Lions, barring an eye-popping two-week turnaround, are a lock for Worst Team of 2008.

Though the 2-23 Oklahoma City Thunder certainly has a nice head start on '09 honors.

Swing and a miss

The Golf Channel is about to trot out its new series, "Project Barkley with Hank Haney," but even Tiger Woods' coach might not be enough to salvage Charles Barkley's imfamously bad swing.

"Kwame Brown played for Phil Jackson," reasoned Kenny Smith, Barkley's fellow NBA analyst on TNT. "It didn't work."

Talko time

• Dan Daly of the Washington Times, after golfer John Daly smashed a fan's camera: "Would John have been able to control his temper if the spectator had been Maria Sharapova, armed with her Canon Sure Shot?"

• Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle, with a Cowboys update: "Now Terrell Owens is beefing that Tony Romo and Jason Witten, on the road, don't invite him to their pillow fights."

• Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun, with the latest Santa news: "All Todd Bertuzzi wants for Christmas are his six front teeth."

News flash

In disturbing news for Yankees fans, the team's troubling drought of not signing a high-profile pitcher to a bloated, megamillion contract is now into its third day.

Up-and-Down Dept.

Annika Sorenstam had quite a roller-coaster ride — losing the lead with a third-round 75, hitting an 8-foot birdie putt on her very last shot and tearing up when she spotted her family — as she closed out her pro golf career in the United Arab Emirates.

Yes, Dubai is such sweet sorrow.

Good on the road

Red Sox bullpenner Hideki Okajima ran Sunday's Honolulu Marathon in 6:10:26.

Scouts suspect he's training to become a long reliever.

Dwight Perry: 206-464-8250 or dperry@seattletimes.com