THE OPENING LINE

Roninho

Monday, June 19, 2006 | 7:04 a.m.

ONE-NAME WONDER

No offense to Prince, Liberace or Bozo. But when it comes to famous one-named people, I prefer mine with a little less eye makeup. And more of a scoring touch inside the box.

In addition to playing the world's most beautiful soccer, five-time World Cup champion Brazil also has the coolest-named players. Of the 23 on this year's Brazil roster, 17 answer to single names.

For obvious reasons, I'm partial to Ronaldo (Big Ronald) and Ronaldinho (Little Ronald), who in addition to being the best soccer player in the world, is perhaps the only name that Shirley "Name Game" Ellis can't rhyme.

(Don't try it at home. You'll hurt yourself.)

In addition to the Ronalds, big and small, Brazil's formation and dugout also includes players known simply as Cafu, Juan, Cicinho, Cris, Gilberto, Kaka, Robinho, Adriano and Fred.

That's right, Fred. As in Flintstone. Or Right Said. One of the big questions at this year's World Cup is will Fred be too sexy for his soccer shirt by the end of it?

It also should be noted that the greatest soccer player the world has ever known also went by just one name:

Pele.

His real name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento. Had Pele not been bestowed with his famous nickname - which he detested at first - as a schoolboy, Brazilian sports writers certainly would have done it at some point.

There are several reasons why Brazilian soccer players go by just one name.

For starters, that's just the way they do it in Brazil. First names and nicknames are accepted on American Express cards and anywhere else, even at fancy dinners with heads of state. Brazil's president is Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva - Lula to his friends, as well as everybody else.

According to Nick Schulz, editor of the TechCentralStation.com Web site, the use of single names in Brazil might have originated before slavery was abolished in the late 19th century.

Brazilian soccer players, like the country's famous auto racing drivers - the late Ayrton Senna, Emerson Fittipaldi, Helio Castoneves, et al. - initially were referred to by first and last names after the English introduced the sport to Brazil during the 1800s.

Alex Bellos, author of "Futebol: Soccer, the Brazilian Way of Life," wrote that when the game grew in popularity, players started going by nicknames, often to differentiate themselves from other players with the same names. Such as all those Ronalds.

Next to Pele, one of the most revered one-named Brazilian stars was Manuel Francisco dos Santos - Garrincha. Other Brazilian soccer stalwarts have answered to Zico, Romario and Socrates.

But never to Liberace.

THIS WEEK'S BEST BET

England vs. Sweden, World Cup soccer 11:55 a.m. Tuesday, Crown & Anchor Pub.

Watching the Motherland play soccer at the local British pub is always a hoot, especially with 29 mostly imported beers on tap. (Provided the Guinness truck arrives with reinforcements before Tuesday. Otherwise, there may only be 28.)

TICKETS: Free.

ON THE WEB: www.crownandanchorlv.com.

ALSO WORTH A LOOK

Ultimate Fighter 3 Final, 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Hard Rock Hotel.

The main event features a guy nicknamed "The Crippler" against a guy nicknamed "The Spider" whose "photo is coming soon" to the official Web site. I'm always leery of guys whose photo is coming soon.

TICKETS: www.ticketmaster.com or 474-4000

ON THE WEB: www.ufc.com