This edition of "It Could Be Worse, You Could Be . . ." is designed to provide a sense of shared misery during these times of rising temperatures and expenses, while offering a mixture of consolation and ridicule to the afflicted. You can decide for yourself who deserves what kind of treatment.

Tony Beltran

Real Salt Lake was headed for a scoreless tie at Kansas City last weekend when Beltran cleverly headed the ball into the net after a free kick. This was a problem, because he was defending RSL's goal.

"It's heartbreaking for me because my teammates put up such an effort," Beltran said, describing the feeling as "almost unbearable."

Luckily for Beltran, the holiday-week schedule will allow him to get back on the field sooner than usual, Thursday against Houston.

Brent Guy/Mike Sanford

I skipped a year, just to give some people a chance to play themselves off the list, but not all of them could do it. Guy is back, taking a 6-29 record into his fourth season as Utah State's football coach. Sanford, the former Utah offensive coordinator, has the same mark as UNLV's coach.

Each is convinced that if his team can win its 2008 season opener, good things will happen. Coincidentally enough, the Aggies and Rebels face one another in Las Vegas.

Tony Finau/Gipper Finau

There are worse fates than being 18 and 17 years old and having phenomenal talent, but the brothers from Salt Lake City are discovering the realities of professional golf.

In a combined seven starts on the minor-league Gateway Tour in June, the Finaus did not make any cuts. In one event in Florida, Tony demonstrated his occasional brilliance with three birdies and an eagle during a round of 77. In eight tournament rounds, Gipper has broken 80 only twice.

They are bound to bounce back, but it seems like a long time since Gipper made the cut in the Nationwide Tour's Utah Championship in 2006 and Tony cashed a check in the PGA Tour event at Milwaukee last July, while earning raves about his long-hitting ability.

Nick Adenhart

He's only 21, and the Salt Lake Bees pitcher has a wonderful future. It's just that there's no room for him in the parent Los Angeles Angels' remarkable rotation, especially not the way Adenhart is pitching lately.

He has not gone beyond five innings in his past two starts for the Bees, and he allowed six earned runs Saturday at Tacoma.

Wiki Gonzalez

There are hot, demanding working conditions, and then there's catching for the St. George Roadrunners of the independent Golden Baseball League.

The temperature is steadily rising toward 110 in St. George. Of course, the Roadrunners do not play all their games at home. They're in Yuma, Ariz., for a four-game series this week, with a high of 112 expected each day.

J'Sharlon Jones

The effect of Jones' mistake in the Utah Blaze's Arena Football League playoff game with Colorado was not as directly responsible for the loss as Beltran's error was for RSL, but he will have to live with the misplayed kickoff that basically cost the Blaze seven points in a 49-44 defeat.

That's life in the AFL, where kickoff returners routinely have to play the ball off the net, like an outfielder.

Michelle Wie

The expectations are high and so is the endorsement income for Wie, which makes the teenager's performance in the U.S. Women's Open more embarrassing. She made my list in '06 because of her play in men's events. Now, she's struggling to keep up with the women.

Wie missed the cut in the Open last weekend, thanks mostly to making a 9 on the ninth hole of the first round in posting an 81. Worst of all, there were no penalty strokes involved; she hit the ball nine times.

Wally Joyner

Joyner thrived as the San Diego Padres' hitting coach after being hired by former Brigham Young teammate Kevin Towers late last season, but the Padres are struggling this year. Their .245 team batting average is among the worst in the major leagues, they have scored the second-fewest runs in the National League and they entered this week's series with Colorado battling with the Rockies for the worst record in baseball.

Chris Shelton

Designated for assignment by the Texas Rangers on his 28th birthday last week, Shelton appears stuck. The Cottonwood High School product was among my sympathetic figures in '06 when the Detroit Tigers left him off their postseason roster, and Shelton has played only occasionally in the major leagues in the last 1 1/2 seasons.

After shocking the baseball world by hitting nine home runs in the first 13 games of the '06 season, Shelton has hit nine big-league homers since then.

Trent Plaisted

He's convinced he made the right decision by leaving BYU a year early, but Plaisted's choice was hardly justified by his NBA Draft destination of Detroit in the second round. The only way he will make the team is if the Pistons' promised roster shake-up frees a spot via a trade.

-Kurt Kragthorpe