AMERICAN IDOL, ANYBODY?

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI

While other nations' sports idols are strutting around the globe this month, the United States' best athletes are striking heroic poses of a different sort.

Over the weekend, there was Brian McBride battling on bravely after being bloodied by an Italian elbow at the World Cup. There were Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson playing the gracious losers after their embarrassments at the U.S. Open. And, in the chest-swellingest development of all, there was only one new name implicated in baseball's steroids scandal.

Not quite the ``USA! USA! USA!'' glory we're used to.

I've got questions for you.

Who is America's greatest sports hero right now? Does the country even have a sports hero? Are there contenders for the title?

This is not one of those columns about how American kids have no role models anymore. The kids are on their own, as my generation was when fans of the National Pastime could choose their hero from among Denny McLain, Alex Johnson and Pete Rose. You and I know where Joe DiMaggio has gone, and scouts generally agree he isn't coming back.

This is about how, regardless of character issues, American athletes are failing to soar these days. Failing to light up the world stage. Failing to transcend on the home fields.

I mean, if you argued with a friend from another country about the relative merits of your best athletes, whom would you hold up as the shining example of somebody to be proud of?

You'd like it to be somebody who's the best at what he does, who's a real Wheaties box candidate with a household name, and who passes the ``What Have You Done for Me Lately?'' test.

But Lance Armstrong retired last year.

Barry Bonds is discredited, at least for now, turning the title of Baseball's Leading Slugger over to Dominican-born Albert Pujols.

Tiger missed the cut at the U.S. Open, his worst performance in a major tournament since turning pro, and Mickelson blew the tournament on the 72nd hole Sunday, letting Australia's Geoff Ogilvy win it.

Our soccer squad's triumph so far at the World Cup was a short-handed draw with Italy on Saturday that gives us a chance to get past round one and run smack-dab into Brazil in the first elimination game.

So, how about our ambassadors to other international sports?

Andy Roddick has slipped to fifth in the men's tennis rankings and hasn't won a tournament this year. Lindsay Davenport and Serena Williams just pulled out of Wimbledon, leaving No.7James Blake as the American in best form heading into Wimbledon.

Helio Castroneves (Brazil) and Sebastian Bourdais (France) lead the standings of the rival Indy-car circuits, based in the United States. If you're looking for Americans near the top of the Formula One list, forget it. At least Americans are cleaning up on the NASCAR tracks -- not that there's a Dale Earnhardt(Sr.) caliber of icon behind a stock-car wheel right now.

The winning jockeys in the recent Triple Crown horse races are from Peru (Edgar Prado), Venezuela (Javier Castellano), and Panama (Fernando Jara).

And see if you can name the U.S. native among boxing's three heavyweight champions, two of whom are from Kazakhstan and Russia. I'll save you the Google time -- the top American in the glamour division is Hasim Rahman.

Wheaties boxes have always been a pretty good barometer for these things.

So who is celebrated on Wheaties packages this year? According to wheaties.com's ``champions list,'' it's Steve Nash, Julius Erving, Joey Cheek, Apolo Anton Ohno and the Texas football team. That's a basketball player from Canada, a basketball player who retired in 1987, two speed skaters and an entire college team.

Maybe we should have foreseen how this year was going to go for Americans after watching the Winter Olympics.

Baseball? Fair or unfair, every would-be Willie Mays operates under the diffuse cloud of drug suspicion, from future Hall of Famers like Roger Clemens on down. On Sunday, David Segui said he used human growth hormone, and it seems as if another name is going to come out every week.

Football? Ben Roethlis-berger's image acquired a black eye (and worse) last week, Brett Favre is just hanging on, and Peyton Manning hasn't won The Big One. It'll be a while before we see if Reggie Bush, Vince Young or Matt Leinart turns into John Elway/Joe Montana/Jerry Rice.

Basketball? It's a race between LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to see who, if either, is the new Michael Jordan/Magic Johnson/Larry Bird.

It's hard not to be jealous of those World Cup nations that chant the names of Ronaldinho, Zinedine Zidane and Wayne Rooney.

But this is a temporary problem, probably. Then again, maybe it's not a problem at all. Maybe the ever-increasing media exposure of major-league athletes makes it impossible for one to stand out. Maybe the rise of foreign athletes in U.S.-based sports should be a source of U.S. pride.

Or maybe you have an American sports hero in mind.

Tiger? Clemens? Favre?

Anybody?

Good thing there's an ``American Idol'' on TV, because I'm straining to find him or her on the ballfield.

heymodesti(AT_SIGN)aol.com

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