BOXING DAY The Sports Museum of America comes out swinging this week.

Photograph: Courtesy Of Lynn C. Marschke

Philip Schwalb didn’t want the Sports Museum of America to be just another a glorified trophy case like the Hard Rock Cafe or Planet Hollywood. “We tried to stay away from having bats and cleats everywhere,” says Schwalb, the CEO for the attraction, opening at 26 Broadway on Wednesday 7. “I wanted to explore the transcendent nature of sports—the sheer beauty of what humans can accomplish—and look at their profound impact on our culture.”

To that end, Jesse Owens’s diary from the 1936 Berlin Olympics and the American flag goaltender Jim Craig wrapped himself in after the U.S. hockey team’s victory over the Soviets in 1980 are among the more than 800 artifacts on display. “Breaking Barriers,” meanwhile, highlights the achievements of crossover athletes like Jackie Robinson and Babe Didrikson Zaharias, and reveals how sports are often a way for immigrants to assimilate and advance in this country. “America doesn’t care where you’re from anymore,” jokes Schwalb “as long as you can win.”

Of course, there will be some trophies on display—the Sports Museum is the new permanent home for both the Women’s Sports Foundation Hall of Fame and the Heisman Trophy, after all. (The prestigious college-football award has been homeless since the Downtown Athletic Club closed after 9/11.) And Schwalb has brokered deals with dozens of sports halls of fame around the country to get a football from the first Super Bowl, Brandi Chastain’s famous sports bra and other memorable items into the institution.

But as much as it embraces the past, the three-story, 45,000-square-foot institution also incorporates cutting-edge technology. Armchair athletes can get a gut-rumbling close-up of a NASCAR race, pedal against Tour de France cyclists and block a New York Ranger’s 110mph slap shot (all via virtual reality, thank God).

Speaking of the home teams, locals on the lookout for tokens of Gotham’s sports history won’t be disappointed: Peppered throughout the galleries, you’ll find Lou Gehrig’s Yankees jersey from 1939, shoulder pads belonging to Giants legend Lawrence Taylor and a souvenir glove from the 1974 Ali-Frazier bout at Madison Square Garden (signed by both boxers). At least until the Yankees and Mets open their new stadiums in the outer boroughs next year, it looks like the hottest spot for New York sports is in lower Manhattan.

The Sports Museum of America opens May 7, 2008.