Gwen Knapp in the San Francisco Chronicle gave the proverbial smackdown to the clown sports writers and critics around the country that said Tom Watson's performance in the Open at 59 proves golf isn't a sport.  I mean, it is a beatdown.

How about a little taste for the meatheads who say Watson diminished the game?

Many of [golf's critics] seem to be guys who played high school or college football and still want to believe that their marginal success on the gridiron qualifies them as permanently more manly and athletic than the dweebs who never wore a chin strap.

Granted, a portly Angel Cabrera did outplay Tiger Woods in a major while smoking between shots. John Daly in his prime defied explanation. But think of William "The Refrigerator" Perry and more than a few baseball players, from Mickey Lolich to Fernando Valenzuela.

Knapp may have taken these goofballs to the woodshed, but I's got more for you.

Mark Martin has a legit chance to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup.  He is 50.  I have seen more people in their fifties drive twenty below the speed limit on the beltway in the fast lane than I have 50 year olds who can break 80.

All-time non-steroid influenced home run king Henry Aaron played baseball well into his forties.  Should we just discount his home runs after age 40 because he got too old to play on a day-in-day-out basis?

Kurt Warner is reaching 40 in a few years and seems to be playing as well as he ever has.  While Brett Favre's annual retirement melodrama may make him seem closer to 50, he still played half-decent for the J-E-T-S last year.  Jeff George can probably still throw further than dead arm Chad Pennington.  From his couch.

How about Celtics (and Bulls) great Robert Parish?  He played basketball until he was 44 years old and could barely run up and down the 94 foot floor.  Watson walked four miles on Sunday alone in a climb that more resembles the terrain that Blake Graffin trains on than the set of Dancing With the Stars.

Fighting is filled with great old guys.  Evander Holyfield - at last check, sufferer of about 100 concussions at age 47 - is still ranked as one of the top heavyweight fighters in the world.  An unranked George Foreman beat Michael Moorer for the world heavyweight title in 1994 at age 43.  Some loser that guy was.

Brock Lesner is the heavyweight champion of the UFC.  Not too long ago, 47 year old Randy Couture was.  He is beating up kids half his age.

Perhaps the greatest example of a geriatric great is Gordie Howe.  He played in the NHL until he was nearly 53 years old.  Howe could probably still hip check you right into the bench.  Does that make hockey pathetic?

Look, Watson playing to within eight feet of the British Open at 59 may seem ridiculous, but it is one hell of achievement.  It would be like your dad nearly winning the British Open.  And even if your dad couldn't win the Open Championship, he could still kick your ass.

Chuck Norris sleeps in Tom Watson pajamas.