John Madden's last game as a football announcer was a thrilling Super Bowl decided in the final seconds.

The perfect ending to a run as one of sports' most popular broadcasters, now that Madden called it a career yesterday. Yet it didn't fit Madden's style to think about his retirement that way.

"I'm a grinder," Madden, 73, said on his Bay Area radio show. "You just grind and get through it and when it's all over, you think about it. You don't rush into any decisions."

Madden's exuberance for football and blue-collar persona endeared him to TV viewers for three decades. Boom! As sudden as his signature call, he's leaving midway through a six-year contract with NBC's "Sunday Night Football."

"I think his work ethic and passion and love for the game made him apart from everybody else," said longtime broadcast partner Pat Summerall.

GOLF

CEJKA'S 64 TOPS HERITAGE

Alex Cejka shot his lowest score in nearly two years with a 7-under-par 64 yesterday for a two-stroke lead over Lee Janzen after the first round of the Verizon Heritage at Hilton Head Island, S.C.

Cejka needed surgery in September to correct a pinched nerve and didn't play for about three months and still says he's only 85 percent back.

Hawai'i's Dean Wilson, a Castle High alum, opened with a 2-under 69, while Punahou alum Parker McLachlin struggled to a 9-over 80.

WIE TRAILS BY 11 IN S. KOREA

Hawai'i's Michelle Wie shot a 3-over 75 in the second round and is far back in the 2009 Lotte Mart Women's tourney at Sky Hills Jeju Country Club in South Korea.

Wie, who shot an opening-round 5-over 77, is at 8-over 152.

Soo Hwa Jang is the leader at 3-under 141 after rounds of 72-69. So Yeon Ryu is second at 71—142.

GYMNASTICS

SEC WOMEN DOMINATE

The Southeastern Conference ruled at the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships in Lincoln, Neb., with all five of the league's teams advancing to the Super Six.

Courtney Kupets led the way with her third all-around title in four years, helping top-seeded Georgia take its first step toward winning a fifth straight national title and 10th overall.

Joining the Bulldogs in tonight's final were Florida, LSU, Alabama, Arkansas and Utah, which outscored UCLA 234.650 to 234.575 for the last spot.

OKLAHOMA MEN LEAD WAY

Oklahoma's Steven Legendre posted the highest score of the day on the vault and the top six seeds finished in order in the NCAA men's gymnastics championships at Minneapolis.

Top-seeded Stanford narrowly posted the highest score in the qualifying round with 361.100 overall points, with Oklahoma, Michigan, Illinois, California and Ohio State also qualifying for tonight's final.

AND WHAT'S MORE ...

Second-seeded Venus Williams was upset in the third round of the Family Circle Cup at Charleston, S.C. yesterday, falling to 63rd-ranked Sabine Lisicki, 6-4, 7-6 (5), while top-seeded Elena Dementieva, ranked No. 3, beat Varvara Lepchenko, 6-1, 6-1. ... Second-seeded Roger Federer lost to Olympic gold-medal doubles partner Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-4, 7-5, yesterday in the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters at Monaco. ... Karch Kiraly, 48, was introduced as the new assistant coach for the U.S. women's national volleyball team yesterday at the Anaheim Sports Center. ... Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin says 3-year-old colt Mafaaz won't run in the May 3 Kentucky Derby despite clinching a spot in the field by winning a race in England.