For this coed, it’s 60 love

The oldest women’s athletic program at Grand Canyon College in Phoenix got a little older this year.

Playing No. 5 singles for the Antelopes’ women’s tennis team is Sheila Johnson, a longtime high school math teacher who used to play -- and beat -- students who doubted her tennis abilities.

Taking her game to another level, Johnson won 11 of her first 17 singles matches this season for Division II Grand Canyon.

At age 60.

Johnson, who played at Arizona State from 1965 to ‘68, was recruited by Antelopes Coach Greg Prudhomme, who had given Johnson private lessons at a club in Glendale, Ariz.

As part of the arrangement, Johnson has to take nine hours of classes and pay about $1,200 in fees that her scholarship doesn’t cover.

Life as the oldest active college tennis player in the country can include some amusing moments. When the Antelopes arrived in Los Angeles recently for a tournament, Johnson and five teammates stopped at a restaurant for a meal.

“What a lovely family,” a woman who stopped at their table exclaimed. “Are these your grandchildren?”

Trivia time

USC freshman guard O.J. Mayo is projected to be selected as high as No. 3 overall in the NBA draft. Which Trojan was the highest pick in the history of the draft?

Fearsome foursome

Forbes.com recently released its list of the most miserable sports cities in America.

And the “winners” were: 1. Atlanta. 2. Seattle. 3. Buffalo. 4. Phoenix.

The criteria for inclusion, according to Forbes’ Tom Van Riper and Andrew Farrell, were “well-chronicled misery that comes with futility” and “misery that comes with repeated heartbreak . . . gut-wrenching losses by teams good enough to win makes for an even worse experience than following a perennial loser that can’t get you excited in the first place.”

Accidental tourist

Orson Charles has never played a down for Florida, but his name might have been etched into Gators football lore last week when he accidentally knocked the school’s BCS trophy off a coffee table, shattering the $35,000 piece of crystal.

Charles, a recruit who was on a tour at the time, said he was taking pictures of quarterback Tim Tebow’s Heisman Trophy when he destroyed the trophy from Florida’s 2006 national title.

Gators coaches joked that Charles would have to commit to the Gators in the wake of the accident, but the trophy was insured and a new one is expected to arrive within 90 days.

Some fantasy

this was

Paul Oberjuerge, who was recently laid off after more than 31 years as a sportswriter at the San Bernardino Sun, has a blog in which he opines on the world of sports, sports journalism and other areas.

Oberjuerge doesn’t seem to be having much luck with his fantasy baseball team after selecting Dodgers center fielder Andruw Jones with his fifth pick -- No. 54 overall -- in the draft.

Of course, Oberjuerge acknowledged that he should have seen Jones’ abysmal start coming after the outfielder’s production plummeted last season in Atlanta.

“Yet I decided he was going to get better in the Dodgers’ dysfunctional lineup operating in a pitcher-friendly park?” Oberjuerge wrote. “I deserve this one.”

Trivia answer

Paul Westphal, who averaged 16.4 points over three seasons at USC, was selected No. 10 overall by the Boston Celtics in 1972.

And finally

Speedo might have discovered the next big thing in swimming with its new LZR Racer suit, which features laser-bonded seams to reduce drag.

Of the 37 world records set in recent weeks, 35 belonged to swimmers wearing the LZR.

Swimmer Ryan Lochte, who set four world records last week, said the suit made him “feel like I’m some sort of action hero, ready to take on the world.”

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