By Rob Miech

Mon, Apr 21, 2008 (2 a.m.)

Cheers, Joleon Lescott. Gracas a Elano. Those two English Premiership footballers powered my SheringHammers to the quarterfinals in the Knockout Cup of the only fantasy league in which I participate.

NFL? Sorry. That one became passé years ago.

Major League Baseball? Nope. Did it 20 years ago. Drafted Jack Clark and Howard Johnson. We figured our own stats every two weeks from The Sporting News. Try that today, computer whiz kids.

As American athletes have become more spoiled, I’ve turned my allegiances across the pond to the real football.

The SheringHammers, born two years ago, are a tribute to 42-year-old Teddy Sheringham, my favorite striker, who glowed when Manchester United won the fabled treble in 1999. To the uninitiated, that’s the domestic regular-season and tournament titles, and European Champions League crown.

In June Sheringham, who won 51 caps for the English national team, was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire. He’ll retire after playing this season for lower-division Colchester United.

Lescott, a British defender for Everton, and Elano, a Brazilian midfielder for Manchester City, are keen SheringHammers who provided goals last weekend that eked me into the final eight of the Knockout Cup.

It’s part of the competition sponsored by an Irish pub that has establishments in 13 U.S. cities. It was free to join, and you pick your formation and team with a salary cap of 55 million pounds based on the value the fantasy game assigns to players.

The grand prize is $2,000, but that overall title is out of my grasp. I’m about 400th among about 4,000 fantasy players, and 17th in the Las Vegas standings.

The Knockout Cup, the tournament in which the computer pits you against a random weekly foe as you keep winning, is my priority. I’ve won eight consecutive weeks.

Manchester United ace midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo is my captain. Whatever he does I get double points. His stingy Red Devils teammate, Edwin van der Sar, defends the SheringHammers’ goal.

Problem is, “white russians,” my opponent this past week (the competition goes through Monday nights), also has Ronaldo.

Strikers Robbie Keane (Tottenham) and Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal) likely will play pivotal roles if the Hammers advance to the semifinals.

If we win it all, expect a few quid in the post, Teddy.

THIS WEEK’S BEST BET

Portland Beavers at Las Vegas 51s, 7:05 p.m. Thursday, Cashman Field

Neither Pacific Coast League team started the season well, but so what. This is dollar-beer night. Dig up a few quarters, or a handful of dimes, grab a hot dog and a pretzel, and enjoy a night at the yard.

TICKETS: $8-$13.

ON THE WEB: www.lv51.com

ALSO WORTH A LOOK,

Salt Lake at CSN, noon Friday and Saturday, Morse Stadium

The Coyotes can threaten the Scenic West Athletic Conference-leading Bruins in these two doubleheaders. The regular season ends the following week and the champion plays host to the league tournament.

TICKETS: $3-$8, children under 12 free

ON THE WEB: www.csn.edu