Cheap Seats
Knowing WHEN to say WHO?
A call from the visiting clubhouse to the press box wondered how Rod Henderson could be throwing a shutout through seven innings when, in fact, the Ottawa Lynx pitcher was in the clubhouse, getting ready for the second game of a doubleheader. “I listened to the whole game and thought it was funny,” Henderson said.
The mixup occurred Monday at MacArthur Stadium in Syracuse, N.Y., when the starting lineup for the first game was posted in the Ottawa clubhouse with Henderson scheduled to pitch. The Lynx made a late switch to Jose Paniagua, but word never reached the announcers on WHEN, flagship station for the Syracuse Chiefs.
Both hail from the School of Lard Knocks
Duane DeFord is thrilled to look like heavyweight boxer Eric “Butterbean” Esch. “It’s really unbelievable,” DeFord, 31, of Bay City, Mich., said.
USA Network, which has aired a number of bouts featuring the blubbery, bald and Uncle Fester-esque Esch, is sponsoring the contest to find a dead ringer for “Butterbean.” More than 200 photos were sent in, and DeFord was selected as one of four finalists.
“It’s amazing to think that many people want to admit to looking like Butterbean,” USA Network’s Dan Schoenberg said. “So Duane definitely had competition. That’s weird that he lives in the same town as Butterbean.”
The winner will escort Esch into the ring for his June 7 fight in Las Vegas on the undercard of the Oscar De La Hoya-Julio Cesar Chavez bout.
Esch said DeFord looks “a little bit” like the real thing. “At least he does once he shaves,” Esch said.
Celtics, Clippers … what’s the difference?
Covering pro basketball in Boston isn’t what it used to be, and neither are the Celtics.
Laments Bill Reynolds of the Providence (R.I.) Journal-Bulletin, on the demise of the Boston Celtics: “We used to get a season that went into June. We used to get championships. Now we get a season that ends in April and coach M.L. Carr for another year.”
In Los Angeles, meanwhile, covering the Clippers is just like it’s always been. Ronnie Gallagher put it best in the Salisbury (N.C.) Post: “I heard the Clippers had a triple-double in their last home game. That means there were three couples in the stands.”
Now the Redskins can really mail it in
Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke has found a new way to address his beloved NFL team by building a stadium with a new postal designation and its own ZIP code.
Fans will still go through the nearby unincorporated Maryland community known as Landover to get to the team’s new stadium. Once there, however, Redskins fans officially will be in Raljon, Md. - a new designation with its own ZIP. It’s a combination of the names of Cooke’s sons - Ralph and Jack - and quelled fears the stadium might be named after former Redskins great Dave Butz.
The last word …
“He’s been running longer than Bob Dole.”
- Kirk Bohls of the Austin-American Statesman, on Carl Lewis
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo