Martin’s Victory Was One for the Ages

After old school dismissed new school at a tournament in Miami on Sunday, Todd Martin, 32, humorously talked about the age difference between him and the man he defeated in the final, 20-year-old Andy Roddick.

“I thought the people over 72 were on my side and everybody else was on his,” said Martin, who beat Roddick, 7-6 (3), 6-4.

By now, Martin is used to this. Pete Sampras joked last year about the contrast between himself and Martin and the hyper youth on the U.S. Davis Cup team.

“They have got a lot of energy, and, you know, they are watching ‘The Simpsons’ at night,” Sampras said.

“And I am with Todd Martin watching ‘On Golden Pond.’ So they can’t sit still for half an hour. They have dinner. They are up in the room, playing games, and playing ping-pong in their underwear.”

Trivia time: Who was the captain of the Detroit Red Wings before Steve Yzerman?

De-Kleined: You don’t often expect to read these two names in the same sentence -- fashion designer Calvin Klein and the New York Knicks’ Latrell Sprewell.

OK, how about never?

Oddly, the 60-year-old fashion guru made his way to courtside Monday in New York, started talking to Sprewell and, according to reports, grabbed his arm with a couple of minutes left in the Knicks’ 100-90 victory over the Toronto Raptors. Security guards “assisted” Klein back to his seat.

“I wasn’t nervous,” Sprewell told reporters. “I was a little surprised, like, ‘Is security going to come over here at some point or what?’ I didn’t know that was him.”

Maybe Klein, who developed a fragrance called “Truth” last year, is taking the concept a little too far.

Here’s an idea for a new scent: “Sit Down.”

Boo-hullabaloo: Denis Coderre, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, had an unusual explanation for the recent booing of the U.S. national anthem in Montreal.

“No, no. They were booing Patrice Brisebois. I know this, because I’m from Montreal,” he said, joking about the slumping player.

New X-treme: Free-riding is not an Olympic sport ... yet.

Michael Jamison of the Missoulian described the X-Games sport as a mix between skateboarding and mountain bike racing on snow and ice.

“Some of the pros wear body armor; the amateurs wear baggy jeans. They all wear stickers advertising gear with an attitude -- Roach and Mr. Dirt and Hole and Loaded Gun and Lizard Skin and Flesh Gear. They have nicknames like Sideshow and Camshaft and Dunkin’ Dog and Jungle Mike.

“The winning amateur takes home a gutted-out ambulance, courtesy of some guy called ‘Sid.’ As you might imagine, all but one of the 50 or so riders here are male.”

Trivia answer: Right wing Danny Gare preceded Yzerman, holding the captaincy from 1982 to ’86.

And finally: San Francisco Chronicle columnist Scott Ostler on Pete Rose:

“Rose has gone as far as he’s going to go. He won’t admit that those betting slips were his, but he has vowed to spend the rest of his life searching for the real gamblers.”