Wimbledon broadcasts as sublime as the tennis

Producing the entirety of the Wimbledon championships -- 37 hours by NBC, which had the premier matches, and 128 by ESPN -- is the TV equivalent of building the Brooklyn Bridge. It's a daunting task. But both networks were up to it this year, and NBC was fortunate enough to turn out a men's final for the ages.

There's something about a classic tennis match that fixes it in memory, elevating it to the nearly sublime. The final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on Sunday met that test. The ratcheting up of pressure, the mano-a-mano tenacity, the thrust and parry and sheer relentlessness -- all made for memorable television.

There were touches of ferocity and elements of fraternity, too. Perhaps 30 minutes before the match, with the crowd gathering around Centre Court, who should walk onto it in business suits but John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg, whom Federer would soon tie with his fifth straight All-England title. McEnroe waved to the crowd, soliciting applause. Then, humbly gesturing with his hands, he passed the welcome on to his one-time foes.

A humble McEnroe? What was happening here? The 1980s lout of a world-class player, the mouth that once said Wimbledon umpires were "out to screw me," was becoming an ambassador of gentility in the place that supposedly did him in. This had to be a special weekend.

McEnroe, now 48 and a commentator for a decade, teamed with Ted Robinson and the superb Mary Carillo on NBC's action. Mac will be happy to hear he's not perfect. Why, for example, does he insist on pronouncing the name of six-time majors winner Justine Henin as "HEN-in"? As Carillo could have told him, it's "EN-na."

McEnroe remains enamored of the sound of his voice -- over-talkative still. But I don't recall a commentator ever explaining the psychology of the game at this level, the nuances, the importance of momentum and the rise and fall of self-confidence or self-doubt the way he does.

As for Carillo, she's a total delight. Smart, a little sassy, with a touch of whimsy and a nice sense of repartee. The sheets of rain that disrupted Wimbledon became a major theme of the tournament. "I've read about this in the Bible," she quipped. "I'm starting to think this is one of the reasons why we haven't seen a lot of great British champions."

NBC could have done better by Bud Collins, the first-class commentator and essayist it used at Wimbledon for 35 years. He is not coming back again, the network announced last week, lamely explaining that so much of their coverage is now taped action, not commentary. The truth is it's a young-face business and Collins is 78. But in 37 hours, there should be room for an essay by a universally respected sage.

As for ESPN, it had by far the most exquisite piece of the fortnight. It was an ode to Tim Henman, England's enduring but fading tennis star. Set to music, produced by Cathi Cappas and written beautifully by Emmy Award-winner Jeff Sarokin, it is well worth repeating here before this epic Wimbledon flees from the mind:

"We're grateful to you, Tim. We're proud of what you've done, but even more of who you are. You're one of us ... only swifter ... with the skills that come alive on grass -- on our grass. We couldn't want for a better champ, a stouter heart, a more noble soul to represent us. Effort over result ... desire before destiny ... sportsmanship before the spoils of conquest. Values that define our national character are so neatly aligned within you.

" 'Come on, Tim!' is Hen- Mania's battle cry. 'Thank you, Tim!' will be England's goodbye."

• NASCAR -- Kudos to TNT's "Wide-Open Coverage" Saturday in which the network reduced the majority of national ads to a box in the bottom-right corner of the screen as the Pepsi 400 from Daytona ran almost uninterrupted. It was as if you were sitting at the track, not at home imprisoned by commercials.

Meanwhile, Nextel Cup ratings are down this year 10 percent, from 6.4 to 5.8. Ratings for almost all sports are down as more viewers watch sports on other platforms, such as the Internet. Admen put a good face on the numbers by noting that ratings for male viewers 18 to 35 years old are up, but I'm not sure I buy that. The NASCAR audience may well have maxed out.

Bill Taaffe is a former award-winning TV-radio sports columnist for Sports Illustrated. His "Remote Control" column is published Tuesday. He can be reached at taaffe-reviewjournal@earthlink.net.