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Jumped on the links

Remember this the next time a few geese get in the way on the backside of Qualchan: It could be a lot worse. A large male kangaroo, probably defending his harem of females, attacked a 13-year-old boy at a Grafton golf course, 300 miles north of Sydney, Australia.

The young teen suffered a fractured cheekbone and had to have bone fragments removed from behind his right eye after the attack.

“It was a very unusual occurrence. It was most probably what a dominant male would do to a younger male to protect his group of females - trying to punch him up,” wildlife rescuer June Richards said.

Good thing it wasn’t female. Isn’t it a stroke penalty if your Titleist lands in the pouch?

Parading into the 21st century

It took Pasadena, Calif., 50 years to take off the rose-colored glasses, but for the first time, Jackie Robinson will be honored with a float in the Tournament of Roses Parade.

Robinson, who considered his hometown of Pasadena a bigoted city, was a star high school athlete there before becoming the first black in major-league baseball. He never returned to Pasadena before his death in 1972.

Organizers of the New Year’s Day parade had been accused in the past of excluding minorities, and the Tournament of Roses committee diversified its membership in 1993.

The float will honor the 50th anniversary of his breaking baseball’s color barrier. Parade organizers decided to include the float, although the deadline for entry was late.

“Pasadena should be proud of Jackie Robinson,” said John Van de Kamp, vice president of a committee planning a memorial to Robinson. “I hope, if he were alive today, that Jackie would want to come back.”

Seems as though the entry wasn’t the only thing late.

Grant grows up

What’s this, a not-so-nice comment about the symbiotic world of basketball from someone other than Charles Barkley, Karl Malone or Dennis Rodman?

Gentle, talented, adorable 24-year-old Detroit Pistons star Grant Hill had this to say about his Olympic experience:

“At times, I felt like I was the most mature guy there. Every last one of the guys on the Dream Team felt they were the best players in the world. I came away from that more grown up, with less respect for them as players and as people.”

And to think, His Airness wasn’t even on DT III.

Why say ‘no?’

Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning has slipped in the Heisman Trophy race, but he still receives as many autograph requests as any player in the country.

But sometimes, even Manning is surprised by their nature, such as the time a woman asked for his autograph - on the rear of her blue jeans.

“I was afraid to say no,” said Manning. “I didn’t want them to think I was a jerk.”

Manning did keep his distance and asked the woman’s boyfriend to be a witness.

The last word …

“I felt good except for my tight jersey. I trashed it. Now I can say I’ve had a jersey retired.”

- Rotund Oliver Miller, after his Dallas Mavericks debut.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo