There are a lot of ways to measure athletes. You can use statistics, you can use what teammates say and you can use what opponents say.

Another way to take the measure of an athlete is to watch how he performs under pressure.

Pressure can come in many forms. An athlete can be playing for his job, and that's one kind of pressure. An athlete can be in a record-approaching situation, and that's another kind.

And an athlete can be in a must-win situation, one of the more intense forms of pressure.

I watched a lot of sports over the weekend and saw some home-state athletes respond to different kinds of pressure in vastly different ways.

Leading the way, of course, was Brett Favre, who was under pressure to lead a team of young players trying to earn some respect. He was magnificent, tying the NFL touchdown record and firing passes around the field, giving lie to the suspicion that this is an athlete ready for retirement.

His skills are still amazing and his desire and enjoyment are obvious.

The other athlete I watched under pressure was Rickie Weeks, the second baseman for the Brewers.

Setting the scene, the Brewers needed a victory Saturday after learning that the Cubs had beaten the Pirates.

The game between the Brewers and Braves was a great baseball game, with good pitching and timely hitting and neither team taking any huge lead.

It was tied in the bottom of the 11th inning, 3-3.

Atlanta's Edgar Renteria drew a walk from reliever Seth McClung. Willie Harris pinch-ran and Brian Shouse came into the game. Chipper Jones hit an easy, hopping grounder directly to Weeks. The ball had double play written all over it.

But with the suddenness of a guillotine, the ball bounced off the heel of Weeks' glove. Instead of two out and nobody on base, the Braves had no outs and runners on first and second. A line drive moments later gave the Brewers the loss and dropped them 2 _ games behind the Cubs.

The ball that Weeks booted was the kind he has handled cleanly time after time. But this day, with lots and lots of marbles at stake, he kicked it away.

It was, to look at it without varnish, a choke.

Choke is a terrible word for an athlete, but it's a reality in the world of sports. Some athletes choke and others don't. Not every athlete has the opportunity.

But Weeks had the chance to make a big play. He didn't, and the result was an absolute disaster.

Part of the measure of an athlete is how they respond to a huge choke. Weeks is a .230 hitter with questionable fielding abilities. He was much more effective at the plate after his minor-league demotion, but unless he finds a way to bounce back, he will be one of those highly-touted farm system babies who turn out to be a bust.