A week ago, after Ozzie Guillen’s latest nuclear meltdown, many Chitown pundits were calling for White Sox general manager Kenny Williams to fire his mercurial manager.

But apparently there was method to Ozzie’s madness. His hitters FINALLY woke up.

The White Sox have won six consecutive games, bludgeoned the Twins and move to the head of the American League Central class.

“Bobby Cox always says the ball bounces,” Guillen told the Chicago Sun-Times. “It’s bouncing our way now. Take advantage when you’re playing well.”

The White Sox scored 10 or more runs and stroked 15 or more hits in three consecutive games. For the moment, anyway, Guillen is the picture of contentment.

“I said in spring training I think this team can be special,” Guillen said. “I don’t know how far we’re going to get, but this team has a chance to be special.”

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Questions to ponder while Tony La Russa sorts through his diminished pitching options:

Will Matt Clement come back from the back of the pack and beat all the other injured Cardinals pitchers into the starting rotation? And couldn’t somebody turn this weird competition into a reality show?

If Kobe Bryant is the Next Jordan, why are the Lakers down to the Celtics 2-0 in the NBA Finals?

With Dominik Hasek retiring, will the Red Wings make a big move to add a goaltender? Or will they trust Chris Osgood to keep on keeping on?

BIG TALK, SMALL RESULTS

As it turns out, rival trainers were more excited about the Belmont Stakes than heavily favored Big Brown.

That horse’s trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. talked some serious trash leading up to the race — bragging about Big Brown’s dominance and dismissing the quality of the other horses.

Among the slighted thoroughbreds was Da’ Tara, a 38-1 longshot who blew out of the gates, surged to the front and just kept flying Saturday afternoon.

Nick Zito, Da’ Tara’s trainer, hopes that Dutrow learned a lesson from the ensuing humiliation.

“If I could give him one thing that he could change, just don’t say anything about the horse,” Zito said. “Say something about me or somebody else or whatever. But don’t say nothing about the other horses, because that will get you in trouble.”

BLOWN CALL OF WEEKEND

Watch an umpire fall for the old hidden ball trick.

Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:

Scott Ostler, San Francisco Chronicle: “Brett Wallace, an Arizona State first baseman drafted by the Cardinals, says his fall workout program took him from 6-foot-1 and 245 pounds to 6-2 and 230. I want that workout.”

Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times: “Is that wheelchair still around? Somebody needs to pull it out of the Boston Celtics locker room and pour the Lakers in it. Push them to the airport. Carry them to the plane. Fly them back to safety with bandages and balm. After two games of the NBA Finals, your heroes are coming home in a heap.”

Rick Morrissey, Chicago Tribune: “The Cubs have the best record in baseball. That is such a strange sentence to type on my computer. It’s like writing, Charlie Brown leads the NFL in field-goal-kicking percentage. Surely this can’t be happening. (It is. You know things are going right when the Cubs pick up Jim Edmonds, a guy all but residing on the scrap heap, and he starts hitting. Until recently, he wouldn’t have been able to hit one of those huge exercise balls if it were on a tee.”

Dan Daly, Washington Times: “Did you see that Big Brown’s jockey, Kent Desormeaux, was barred from wearing the Hooters logo on his pants - the restaurant chain is his newest sponsor - because it conflicted with one of the Belmont’s sponsors? What’s next? The Bad News Bears can’t wear uniforms that say ‘Chico’s Bail Bonds’? Rocky Balboa can’t enter the ring in a robe plugging ‘Shamrock Meats’?”

Greg Cote, Miami Herald: “Michael Beasley, likely upcoming No. 2 overall pick by the Heat, turns out to be only 6-7, not 6-10 as once claimed. Talk about shrinkage! Better draft him quick. Pretty soon he might be too short to touch the net.”

Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel: “Did you see Boston’s Paul Pierce go out of the game with a knee injury and then return minutes later in Game 1 of the NBA Finals? It’s a good thing Pierce isn’t Tiger Woods or he would have been out of action for the next two months. . . . And, by the way, can we please refrain from comparing Pierce to Willis Reed? For crying out loud, that’s like comparing Lindsay Lohan to Katharine Hepburn.”

MEGAPHONE

“It was just something that happened in the game and it’s been taken care of. It happens in the family . . . We’re fine. We’re brothers, a whole family. The oldest brother gets into fights sometimes. It’s been straightened out.”

Rays catcher Dioner Navarro, after his dugout altercation with teammate Matt Garza.