The Little League aces from Japan ended the United States' five-year reign as World Series champions.  The team from Tokyo limited Waipahu, Hawaii, to four singles, and got a homer and three RBIs from Konan Tomori to take the Little League World Series title with a 4-1 victory Sunday.

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Tiger Woods finally looked like the No. 1 player in the world.  In his first tournament since his divorce, he played by far his best round of the year Thursday at The Barclays, missing only one fairway and three greens in a 6-under 65 for his lowest score this year.

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Today's Calls: Wake-Up Call vs. Snooze Button, Chris Johnson vs. the Titans, Florida vs. NCAA, Miguel Cabrera vs. Josh Hamilton, Ubaldo vs. the Marlins, Rich Cho vs. Sam Presti, John Wall vs. Evan Turner, Brett Favre vs. Brad Childress, Kyrie Irving vs. Roy Williams, Derek Jeter vs. Stephen Strasburg and More.

The Opening Pitch: Let's call it "Last Call."

This will be the final edition of the Wake-Up Call on SportingNews.com.

For more than two and a half years, I have had the pleasure of writing this column for you here, and I hope it has made your mornings a little more ... well, at the very least, full of more shallow analysis of the biggest stories of the sports day.

From the Olympic glory of Michael Phelps in 2008 to the self-glorification of LeBron James in 2010, every day has been its own treat. I particularly appreciate your indulgence for my obsessive coverage of Tim Tebow. (Not that he didn't earn it!)

Sports fans know: There is always something new to keep us entertained, appalled, laughing or cheering. I hope you will continue to keep up with me at DanShanoff.com and through Twitter (@danshanoff). I look forward to hearing from you.

I sincerely appreciate your time, attention and support (and even our disagreements!), and I hope we will cross paths again soon. Now, where's that snooze button. ...

Titans give Chris Johnson his new deal: I'm glad to see this tense situation get some closure, while there was still a moment to praise the Titans for doing the right thing and giving the most valuable and dominant RB in the league the pay raise he has earned.

Florida football scandal? Speaking of Tebow, it sure would be a shame if his record-breaking performance in the Sugar Bowl was wiped out because the Gators had to vacate the win because center Maurkice Pouncey did something he shouldn't have with an agent. (FWIW, the Pouncey family denies any wrongdoing.)

MLB Talking Points: Neither Miguel Cabrera nor Josh Hamilton are going to end up winning the AL Triple Crown, but it sure is fun watching them slug it out. (Last night, head-to-head: Cabrera 2 HR, Hamilton 4 H)

More:

• Trade Talk: Dodgers want an ace?

• Ubaldomania: Can't beat Marlins.

• Ouch: Hope Dustin Nippert is OK.

• Media: Well, THIS only enables him.

• Fantasy Stud: Cabrera (obv).

SEC Media Days Preview: It won't be quite the same as last year's "Tebow Media Days," but between the defending national champ, the most intriguing QB story line in the country (John Brantley replacing Tim Tebow) and the hilarity that inevitably ensues when you enter the Spurrier-Nutt-Miles triangle, it remains the premier media-day(s) event in college sports.

CFB Countdown: No. 45 BYU. Remember at the start of last season when BYU beat Oklahoma and they were briefly in the mix at No. 1? It's a bit of a drop-off from that.

NBA Offseason: Rich Cho -- top assistant to Sam Presti in Oklahoma City -- is the best GM hire since ... Sam Presti. You know what would help make Cho look really, really good? Healthy Greg Oden.

Favre Watch: The Brad Childress visit is usually a sign that Favre is ready to signal his comeback, right? At this point, if he doesn't want to go to training camp, why doesn't he just say so publicly? We all know he doesn't want to deal -- and assume that's why he isn't announcing his return until later this month -- so why put up a charade?

NBA Summer Summary: John Wall? Even better than we thought. Evan Turner? Told you he was overrated. (Full recap from Deveney here.)

D-Wade is sorry: For the WTC insensitivity. Solid crisis management: A quick, presumably sincere apology within 24 hours of an issue popping up, and it's all put behind us.

CBB Offseason: I said this last week and I lament it as much as the rest of you -- Duke is going to win another national title next season, sitting at No. 1 from the preseason until the end of the Final Four. (One big reason? Freshman PG sensation Kyrie Irving.)

NCAA Tournament Expansion: Let's hope that UConn AD Jeff Hathaway can talk glibly about the reason a 96-team NCAA Tournament is a great thing. As the head of the selection committee in 2011-2012, he may be on the watch when it gets approved.

Business: Derek Jeter being named the most marketable player in baseball isn't nearly as interesting as Stephen Strasburg being named No. 4 on the list, after less than two months of playing at the MLB level.

The Last Word: Thanks again for reading. And special thanks from me to my editors Kathy Sheldon and Alisha Hord, to longtime Sporting Blog editor Chris Littmann and my talented colleagues at Sporting Blog and to Sporting News programming guru Shawn Schrager, who originally recruited me to Sporting News to write the column.

Dan Shanoff writes The Wake-Up Call every weekday morning for SportingNews.com and blogs daily at DanShanoff.com. Got any comments, questions or feedback? Email Dan at shanofftsn-[at]-gmail-[dot]-com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/danshanoff.

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Brett Favre's highly anticipated return to the playing field with the Vikings spanned four plays and one series, and Minnesota lost its preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers by a 15-10 score.

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The Titans and Chris Johnson have agreed to a revised deal that will pay him $2.5 million this season. That's not exactly the $30 million in guaranteed coin he once demanded, but at least it's a raise.

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Florio: For 2010, let’s look at the job security of the 32 NFL head coaches, ranking the seats they occupy on a curve, from the hottest to the coldest.

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Who knew there was a code of ethics in cycling? After passing race-leader Andy Schleck during Monday's Stage 15 of the Tour de France to become the overall leader, defending champion Alberto Contador took to YouTube to apologize for his action:

"Hello everyone. Today I made the podium and I am happy about that. But there's a problem with the circumstances. Just when I attacked, Andy had a mechanical problem, on the last climb. The race was on, and maybe I made a mistake. I'm sorry."

Contador is specifically apologizing for taking advantage of Schleck's mechanical problem by blowing past him while his bike wasn't working properly. Per The Telegraph:

Schleck started the day 31 seconds ahead of Contador and needing to extend that lead ahead of Saturday’s time-trial. After biding his time on another sweltering day … he attacked with a savage burst 4km short of the summit of the mighty Port de Balès 24km from the finish.

In no time Schleck had put 45 yards on Contador and was stretching that lead when his chain slipped and tangled and he came to grinding halt.
Contador, chasing hard by now, had to swerve as he passed the stationary Schleck on the inside and narrowly avoided colliding with a parked car as he attacked the yellow jersey.

Afterwards, however, he insisted he did not realise Schleck had stopped and encountered a problem. Replays clearly show Contador constantly looking back over his shoulder to check the progress of his rival as he accelerated hard to ram home his advantage.

Per the report, Schleck and Contador are friends, but the defending champ not only left his challenger in the proverbial dust, but also in a fit of rage. Schleck told reporters, "[m]y stomach is full of anger. The race is not finished and I will take my revenge. I can end it like a champion. I would never have raced like that and taken advantage of that situation. For sure these guys don’t get the fair-play prize today.”

Excuse me if I take an American point of view in this situation. First, cycling has more reports of cheating – yes it's mostly doping – than any sport in the world, so it's somewhat hilarious to the outsider to read about a moral and ethical code within a race. Second, it's a bike race! Men…riding bikes. There are only two things in that equation. The men, and the bikes. If something happens to the man – a knee injury or a back problem – does the race stop so he can grab a massage and an ice pack? Why, then, if something happens to the bike, should the other competitors hold up the rest of the race until one rider can fix his problem?

If a NASCAR driver got a flat tire or had a belt snap, would the rest of the drivers wait for him to fix it in the pits before getting back to full speed? If a marathon runners shoe falls off, does everyone wait until he can secure a proper double knot?

You can make the case that it's understandable for other riders to slow down after a competitor crashes – if for nothing else, like car racing, to not add to the carnage – and there's probably some karmic value to making sure you don’t benefit from another racer's injury. But bike malfunction?

Contador shouldn’t be apologizing to Schleck, he should be telling him to get a better bike. Alas, this is what happens in the Tour de France. With a race that's completed in stages, there is ample time for a racer to let the press, and the sentiment of the fans, get into his head. Contador wants to win, but he clearly doesn't want to be the villain in the process.

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The Jets and Giants played the first NFL football game Monday at their new $1.6 billion stadium that is co-owned by the NFL teams and is the most expensive stadium in the country.

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