Cheap Seats

One Beaver who should learn to Duck

Does Benny Beaver need a bodyguard? For the second time in as many weeks, a 300-pound football player has put the Oregon State mascot down for the count.

This time it was an unprovoked, and presumably accidental, blow from 305-pound Arizona guard Frank Middleton during OSU’s 14-9 loss Saturday. The Wildcats were celebrating their go-ahead touchdown when Marri Hollen, the 135-pound woman inside the beaver pelt, was knocked down.

“My chin is still sore,” said Hollen, who was also roughed up Oct. 21 when Cal’s 330-pound Terik Glenn shoved the mascot when she tapped him with an inflatable plastic hammer. Glenn subsequently apologized to Hollen with a letter last week.

“I love doing it,” said Hollen, “but I’m fed up with being hit.”

Another viewer switches to Leno

Don’t expect any return shots for Deion Sanders on “The Late Show with David Letterman.” The Cowboys cornerback was not amused last week when Letterman surprised him by asking Sanders to take a taste test involving Pepsi and Coca-Cola.

Sanders, of course, recently signed a deal to endorse Pepsi. Fortunately, he correctly selected the soft drink he pitches after tasting two unmarked cans.

Pepsi “was happy that I didn’t pick the wrong one. It saved them a lot of embarrassment,” Sanders said.

“But that was weak. I can’t believe (Letterman) would do that, because the ramifications of me not getting it right would have been great. (The media) would have been running that story like anything.”

Wow. Imagine the fuss Deion would have made if Letterman had actually asked him to tackle somebody.

Dominique, rhymes with weak

Former NBA star Dominique Wilkins is not making a big hit with his new team, Panathinaikos Athens. “Sports Time,” a Greek daily, ran a headline reading, “Dominique a fiasco.”

The 35-year-old Wilkins signed a two-year contract with Panathinaikos last month for $7 million. He was welcomed by more than 3,000 fans when he arrived at Athens airport in September.

But Panathinaikos lost to Barcelona 63-57 as Wilkins scored just 10 points, and he managed just 12 in his club’s first game in the European Championship.

“Panathinaikos played with only four players against my team,” said Barcelona’s Fernandez Jimenez.

And we just thought it was defense that was Greek to ‘Nique.

A hot ticket

Probably you thought all this official sponsorship business now indulged in during the Olympics is merely crass commercialism and hype. Well, hardly.

Sara Lee Meats has just become the official packaged meat of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and you can expect big things to come of it.

“The meat case,” said George Bryan, Sara Lee president, “will be an exciting place to shop in the upcoming months.”

The last word …

“What’s a province?” - Toronto Raptors forward Tony Massenburg, when asked how many provinces there are in Canada