Cheap Seats
Is the Pope Catholic? i
When Notre Dame plays at Washington on Oct. 7, the ABC affiliate in New York plans to pre-empt the Irish telecast to show Pope John Paul II at Giants Stadium.
Is the General Mormon?
After Air Force knocked off BYU 38-12, Brig. Gen. John D. Hopper gave freshmen permission to leave campus on weekends for the month of September. Typically, freshmen get one weekend of freedom per month.
Queen of the range ball
Eight-foot caricatures of David Letterman, Madonna, George Steinbrenner and Donald Trump offer golfers something to shoot for at a driving range on Randalls Island in New York City.
“The response has been fantastic,” said the range’s pro, Leo Tabick, who was instrumental in the erection of the show-business targets, which tempt golfers from 75 yards out from the practice tees.
The question is, which of the celebrity targets takes the most hits? “Definitely Madonna,” he said.
That must mean she’s the easiest chip shot.
He’s still Nobody’s Fool
Paul Newman does not give autographs. He gets them.
The 70-year-old Oscar winner was riding his motorcycle along the fence at an IndyCar race when he noticed a spectator waving a piece of paper.
“Hey, fella!” the man shouted through the fence. “Can you get Mario (Andretti) to sign this for me?” Newman couldn’t resist. He took the paper, drove to the garage, got Andretti’s autograph and returned.
“Hey, thanks, pal,” the fan said.
The straw that stirs the empty glass
The New York Post reported that a recent clubhouse speech by Reggie Jackson fell on deaf ears: “So much for the power of Mr. October to raise some October hopes. Not a Yankee player looked up from eating or dressing to even acknowledge his words.”
Frank talk
Dennis Erickson came down hard on Rick Mirer, Cortez Kennedy and Eugene Robinson for scarfing hot dogs on the sideline a few weeks ago. But their nosh was nothing new to that old Colts raconteur, Art Donovan.
“It was in an exhibition game,” recalled Donovan. “Don Shinnick thought he was done for the day. He arranged for a hot dog and was just about to bite into it when someone got injured and he was told to go in.
“He had his helmet hanging off his belt and was trying to get it off when he got to his position. The other team was just about to run its play and Don still didn’t have his helmet on, so he handed the sandwich to Roy Hilton. Hilton handed it to Freddie Miller. The play got run, the official came in to set the ball and noticed the sandwich laying there. He picked it up, probably wondered what it was doing there, shrugged and just ran off with it.”
The last word …
“Professional football is the only enterprise that can link the skull and crossbones with a commitment to excellence.”
- Malcolm Moran of the New York Times, on the Oakland Raiders’ twin trademarks
, DataTimes