With only marginal fanfare, one of the most interesting players in modern tennis history retired two weeks ago.

Ana Ivanovic, 29, had twice been ranked No. 1 in the world and won the 2008 French Open as well as 14 other WTA titles.

How the willowy Serbian managed to do that seems almost beyond explanation, especially for those of us who saw her struggle over the final eight years of her career.

In an era when the women’s game has been dominated by big and physically powerful women, Ivanovic stood out — because she not only was thin, she seemed almost frail, and her game often reflected what should have been a strength-deficit impossible to overcome.

Patty-cake serve, limited pace, a shockingly weak backhand …

Yet there she was at No. 1 for 12 weeks in the summer of 2008, after her French Open victory.

How did she do it?

Grit, guile, quickness, a strong forehand, more grit, and more than a little luck as she filled a vacuum at the top of the women’s game, back in 2008.

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I am not a huge fan of brew or breweries, but I like a good dark beer. I’m the guy ordering Guinness stout on tap.

One of the wine shops in the nearby town also sells craft beers, and that interested me, for that one night in 10 I feel like a beer would be a good idea.

As a Christmas gift I got a sampler of six dark, bottled beers, and I picked out something called Trappistes Rochefort, popped the cap … and about two pulls later I announced, “There’s something different about this beer.”

I took a closer look at the labels on the bottle and soon found the difference:

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Ah, memories.

This collection seeped into my consciousness when prompted by the discovery that the Oakland Raiders are playing at Houston on Sunday … and remembering I had covered an NFL game in Houston.

At the Astrodome. While covering the Los Angeles Rams. In 1978. A long, long time ago.

And I was pretty sure that the Rams and Oilers were just one aspect of a crazy busy, overly ambitious but productive trip that involved a USC road game the night before.

It was.

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We expect some chilly weather here, given that we are further north than 90 percent of the continental U.S.

But this batch of weather has been the coldest we have seen in more than a year in the south of France.

Tonight? A low of 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Yes, below freezing.

Tomorrow night? A forecast low of 28. Perhaps the coldest night I will experience since the 1994 Winter Olympics at Lillehammer, which at no time in three weeks was the temperature above 26F.

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If it were possible for me to feel sympathy for the Oakland Raiders, and it is not, I might feel bad about what has happened to them.

And what is about to happen to them.

They were one of the big surprises in the NFL this season, along with the Dallas Cowboys.

The Raiders were 11-3, and 12 minutes from 12-3, when the key man in their first winning record in 14 (!) seasons, quarterback Derek Carr, suffered a broken leg as he was sacked.

They were leading the Indianapolis Colts 33-14 at the time, and hung on to win 33-25 and secure a playoffs berth.

But the loss of Carr was a disaster. And it got worse.

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It took me a long time to realize the clarinet is one of the nastiest instruments in the composer’s toolbox.

And for most of that time, I was playing the clarinet.

Started in fourth grade, played through 12th grade. That’s nine years of honking and blarting, interrupted only by the occasional ear-piercing squeak.

What was I thinking, as I kept up with this?

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Wow. It had been that long?

I covered at least 15 Rose Bowl games, maybe 20, and  should have known this. But I may have mentioned I’ve been away.

What I know for sure is that USC is supposed to 1) be in the Rose Bowl more often than this and 2) win the Rose Bowl more often than this.

USC 52, Penn State 49. Just another Rose Bowl victory for the Trojans.

But the first since 2009? Really?

Really.

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Well, that could hardly have gone worse.

First year back in Los Angeles, and the Rams stunk it up.

There’s losing and then there’s haplessly incompetent, no-hope, not-even-in-the-game losing of the sort the Rams had mastered by the end of a 4-12 season.

The worst kind of team to live with is the team that can’t score, and that was the Rams all over — they averaged 14 points a game, 32nd (worst) in the NFL. They also were last in yards gained, and 31st in rushing yards as well as passing yards. They were helpless. Utterly incompetent.

First, we will look at how the Rams did just about everything wrong, this season, and then we will take on what they ought to do going forward.

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This was a fine idea. An anglophone couple on the other side of our little town — about 150 yards away, that is — hosted a “reception” for New Year’s Eve.

A fine idea, and also handy on the safety/law-and-order front, in that most of the people who arrived walked less than five minutes to get to the party and to return home, and it’s hard to get in trouble on foot inside a small town in France on New Year’s Eve.

The event brought together citizens from half-a-dozen countries, including three native French … and ended with an anglophone/francophone discussion of the French pop idols who appeared on the local version of the “countdown” show.

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Someone will get hurt.

Actually, lots of someones already have.

OK, then. Someone else will get hurt. Seriously hurt. This weekend or next. Or both.

Soccer’s goal celebrations. Out of control. Mindless, actually.

Exuberance perhaps is to be expected, following something as rare (in many soccer games) as a goal.

However, in their enthusiasm to celebrate, soccer players put themselves at risk of major injury. In one sad case, a celebrating player landed on his head and suffered a fatal injury.

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