By BRUCE JENKINS, San Francisco Chronicle

SAN FRANCISCO - At this stage of his life, John McEnroe is governed by a private clock. It rarely runs on time. The thing tends to go haywire, cartoonishly spinning through long-ago eras before lurching back to the present. And for that, we all can be grateful.

Late in the evening, well after the celebration and the players' emotional exit from the field, there was a tremendous sense of loss at Stanford Stadium after Andrew Luck's home finale.

The late, great American Football League was built on a foundation of wealth and ingenuity, but its greatest triumph was forged through anger -- that of a single man, Al Davis. I remember the man most fondly for his historic, groundbreaking work in the 1960s.

SAN FRANCISCO - A's general manager Billy Beane says he's staying in Oakland, that he's expecting to hear soon from Major League Baseball on the San Jose/stadium issue, and all of that sounds great -- until it isn't.

A certain Angels fan had seen quite enough of Jemile Weeks. "What's this guy doing on the A's?" he wrote via e-mail as Weeks' five-hit weekend helped Oakland dismantle L.A.'s postseason hopes. "And can they get rid of him, please?"

The story of Novak Djokovic's U.S. Open title reached a fitting conclusion Monday, when he defeated Rafael Nadal and proved without question that he is the most dominant player in the world. But it was told most vividly Saturday, when Djokovic defined himself in ways that are entirely his own.

Funny headline in the Chicago Tribune this week: "Big Ten content with its 12 teams."

In the fall of 2002, Barry Zito was honored with the American League's Cy Young Award after racking up a 23-5, 2.75 season for the Oakland A's. The MVP award went to his teammate, shortstop Miguel Tejada, who played all 162 games, hit 34 homers and drove in 131 runs.

It wasn't ever an outright embarrassment, but it came close. At a time when Stanford's brand of football was more entertaining than half the teams in the NFL, too many seats were empty throughout last season at Stanford Stadium.

Various baseball thoughts for a mid-August morning: