Class acts

I was going to write a nice column this week. Really.

A sweet uplifting paean to sportsmanship.

Then Anthony Weiner’s story imploded, I started thinking about Roscoe Conkling, the Thane of Cawdor, Folgers coffee crystals and all things instant, and well, goodbye sportsmanship.

But it’s still worth mentioning here.

Men's tennis has seen its share of bad boys: Ilie Nastase, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors. et al. But its current crop of male stars — Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic — is largely commendable.

In Sunday’s French Open final, Nadal conceded a point to Federer after a shot by the Swiss star was wrongly called out. Years ago, Federer gave Nadal a lift on his private jet to the next tournament after learning the Spaniard was having trouble finding a commercial flight. In his comments about Nadal and Federer, Djokovic has proven that he belongs with those two not only on court but off as well.

Nadal, Federer and Djokovic prove you can have a great rivalries, intense rivalries without those rivalries turning nasty.

GOOD for them.