Oh Noah! There’s two of them

Joakim Noah’s contributions to Florida’s second consecutive national basketball championship become all the more impressive when you consider that while he was advancing, round after round, in the NCAA tournament he was also advancing on “American Idol.”

No one has ever seen Noah and Sanjaya in the same place, right?

The wild-haired wonders have more in common than bad barbers and a curious physical resemblance.

Both were genetically predisposed to their roads to celebrity. Noah’s father is a French Open tennis champion. Sanjaya’s father is a classical musician.

Both have controversial vocal styles, which has surrounded each with love-him-or-hate-him national discussion. Lots of people hate Noah’s shouting. Lots of people hate Sanjaya’s singing.

Both have been the focus of take-it-to-the-people talk-show campaigns.

In 2006, a Gainesville talk-show host started a campaign to rename a street on the Florida campus “Joakim Noah Road.” In 2007, Howard Stern has been urging fans to vote for the hapless Sanjaya in hopes that a Sanjaya victory will lead to the demise and destruction of “American Idol.”

Both probably hurt their NBA draft chances by not declaring last year.

And neither did much to stop Greg Oden around the basket Monday night.

Trivia time

Whom did Yannick Noah defeat in the 1983 French Open final?

Give it a rest

Oden was the best player on the floor in Monday’s final, scoring 25 points, collecting 12 rebounds, blocking four shots -- and losing by nine points.

Clearly, Ohio State needed another Oden or three. Yet, Billy Packer spent most of the game stating and restating that the Buckeyes needed to bench the only Oden they had, because in Packer’s view the freshman center constantly looked “tired” and needed to rest.

Oden is 19 years old. He’s a kid. He was playing what probably was his final collegiate game, and he was competing for a national championship. He has the rest of his life to rest.

But then, Packer is 67. At that age, it’s not unusual to be obsessed by naps.

Readers write

Joe Kevany e-mailed to muse about the political overtones accompanying the Florida-Ohio State final:

“President Bush was asked who he was rooting for in the NCAA championship game, and he replied, ‘Aw heck! I don’t know. Both Florida and Ohio have been real good to me!’ ”

Dennis Davis offered another song selection for a notable sports figure: “For Pete Rose: Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s ‘Let it Ride.’ ”

Sorry, couldn’t be helped

The Chicago Fire signed Mexican national team forward Cuauhtemoc Blanco, making him Major League Soccer’s second-highest-paid player, behind David Beckham.

How did the Fire accomplish this?

By writing him a Blanco check.

Trivia answer

Mats Wilander in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5, 7-6.

And finally

Pregame festivities for the San Francisco Giants’ home opener against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday made no mention of Barry Bonds’ pursuit of Hank Aaron’s home run record.

Pictured on the cover of the game program was a different Barry -- Zito -- and there were no special features about Bonds inside the magazine.

Larry Baer, Giants executive vice president, told the Washington Post, “We just want to have a proper sense of proportion.”

Unlike Bonds’ head, his physique, his home run totals ...

mike.penner@latimes.com