For Her Next Trick: Chain-Saw Juggling

What began as an innocent photo shoot could have cost sprinter Gwen Torrence a chance at making the 1996 Olympic team. Torrence was in Atlanta on May 22, jumping on a trampoline positioned on the roof of an Atlanta parking garage. The idea was simple enough: Photographers clicked away, angling for an airborne shot with the Atlanta skyline in the background.

But Torrence suffered a muscle strain behind her right knee, an injury that has bothered her all season. At the U.S. Championships last month, Torrence said she was in tears from the pain. Despite battling through the agony for a victory in the 200 meters, Torrence vowed to “never get on a trampoline again.”

Football, mom and apple pie (in that order)

Auburn football coach Terry Bowden makes big money. No one knows exactly how much, however, thanks to a new Alabama ethics law that exempts college coaches from reporting outside income or its sources. The law rankles other state employees, who do.

“I think that the coaching profession is no different than the rest of us that are public employees,” huffed Dale Huffman, head of Auburn’s food technology department.

Some believe coaches deserve special treatment because of the money and prestige they bring their universities. Huffman’s response? “Well, so did I.”

Perhaps Huffman’s beef stems from his role as the lead researcher on a team that developed the technology for the McLean Deluxe, McDonald’s (relatively) lowfat hamburger. Since the research was supported by state funding, Huffman cannot capitalize on the deal. Even if he could, he would have to make it public.

Hate to break the news, Dale, but McDonald’s wasn’t planning on giving you a 10 percent cut, anyway.

Billy Martin lives

Al Gallagher, manager of the Bend (Ore.) Bandits in the Western Baseball League, didn’t take it kindly when he was ejected from a recent game.

Gallagher, known as Dirty Al when he played third base for the California Angels in the early ‘70s, uprooted the first-base bag and threw it into the outfield. Then he took off both of his shoes, and, pretending they were hand grenades, hurled them toward umpire Dennis Haynes.

“I told the umpire that his calls smelled as bad as my socks,” Gallagher said.

Ah. Good one, Al.

Incoming!

Los Angeles Daily News columnist Ron Rapoport shares his favorite baseball story of the season so far: “A guy goes to a game at Fenway Park, and in the fifth inning realizes he has locked his keys in his car. He goes out to the parking lot behind center field just in time to see a Mark McGwire home run land on the roof of the car two spots down from his. He grabs the ball and uses it to break a window and rescue his keys. Then he takes the ball to the visitors’ locker room and gets McGwire to sign it.”

The pitcher? Must’ve been Jimmy Key.

The last word …

“This is standard length - for Shaquille O’Neal.”

- Rocky Thompson, showcasing a 52-inch driver he used at a recent Senior PGA event

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo