Cheap Seat
Give that Maxfli plenty of flap
If you had a flight delay coming out of Philadelphia Monday, blame Laura Davies. The airport closed one of its three runways so the LPGA star could take a flyer at the world record for longest drive by a woman.
And she had liftoff - whacking one of her 10 drives off a grass tee adjacent to the 5,460-yard runway 376 yards. That broke her own record of 341 set in Hawaii in 1988 - but came up short of the men’s record of 489 yards by former Red Sox slugger Jim Rice.
“This isn’t a busy time of our day, and we routinely shut down a runway in mid-afternoon to do routine maintenance work,” said airport spokesman Phyllis Van Is Tendal.
When the Chuck’s away, the mice play
The one-game suspension Charles Barkley drew for decking Denver guard Bryant Stith last week provided a golden opportunity for Barkley’s teammates.
“It was a bad play to make that foul. It was stupid,” Danny Ainge said in the Phoenix clubhouse, an hour before the Lakers game. Ainge smiled as he considered his choice of words - and imagined how his friend would react when he read it. “Danny,” Ainge called out to Danny Schayes, soliciting a second opinion, “what’d you think of Chuck’s foul?” “I thought it was the STUPIDEST thing I’ve ever seen!” Schayes chimed in, Barkley safely away for the night, having been banned from America West Arena as part of the suspension. “If he had wanted a day off, he could have faked another injury.”
Ainge was beaming now. “Hey, this is great,” the guard said, almost gleefully. “Free shots at Chuck and there’s nothing he can do about it. Not tonight.”
Like Barkley gave a rip. Immediately following the Denver game, Sir Charles was in top form: “The way it is now, they leave the call up to the officials’ discretion. But they don’t have a clue. Still, that’s just the way it is. I’m not going to worry about it. If they suspend me, I’ll play golf.”
Severance pay
The office pool at ESPN for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament totaled some 600 entries. The lucky winner? Tim Brando, who had just had his contract dropped by the cable network.
Dick Vitale, still busy waffling on his picks, remains employed, however.
Returned to sender
Who will be the least popular player at the upcoming World Hockey Championships in Stockholm? Canucks goalie Corey Hirsch, who may want to keep his mask on off the rink.
Hirsch, remember, was Team Canada’s goalie when Peter Forsberg scored the winning goal that secured the Olympic gold medal for Sweden - a moment so treasured the country put it on a postage stamp.
But Hirsch would not allow his name and likeness on the stamp, so it has Forsberg scoring on a generic goalie - diluting the impact of the product.
“I don’t suppose I’ll be getting much of a warm reception,” Hirsch said.
Be sure and save the stamps on all the hate mail, Corey.
The last word …
“Oh, I’m not going to look at that. Of course, it’s the only Playboy I haven’t looked at in 27 years.”
- Jerry Buss, whose daughter Jeanie is featured in Playboy