Cheap Seats

Ripken’s streak stands up to new math

Of course you can’t compare Jerry Rice’s consecutive-games streak with Cal Ripken’s. They have nothing in common. One’s football and one’s baseball. You wouldn’t compare base hits to completed passes. So why would you compare this? It’s apples and oranges.

Fine. Now let’s compare them.

Which streak is more impressive, Rice’s 189 consecutive games or Cal’s 2,453?

It says here it’s close.

But it’s Cal.

Clearly, 189 isn’t in the same league with 2,453. However, since baseball players play 10 times more games each season than football players, Rice’s streak converts to 1,890.

Which, admittedly, is like using dog years to compare Milton Berle to Rin Tin Tin, writes Tony Kornheiser of the Washington Post.

Read my chest

Can Ken Griffey Jr. break Roger Maris’ single-season record of 61 home runs?

Maris’ record has stood longer than Babe Ruth’s record of 60, but it seems ever-so slightly vulnerable now that Griffey has 49 home runs with 20 games remaining.

Asked Thursday whether he felt any pressure, Griffey responded, “What pressure? In 5 minutes, I’ll be out of here and you guys won’t be able to ask me any more questions until 5:30 tomorrow.”

To deal with the media, Griffey joked that he will buy a T-shirt with his responses to the most-often asked questions. “Then you can pick what you want,” he said, adding that the responses would be, “I’m having fun, I’m enjoying myself; Whatever happens, happens,” and “Be consistent.”

What about “No comment”?

“That’s going to be on the front.”

This sacrifice didn’t show up in the boxscore

When Ricardo Montas looks back, say, 20 years from now and tells his children about his .300 batting average with the Spokane Indians, he may want to call Joe Caruso’s children at the same time.

Montas entered Wednesday’s Northwest League season-ending game against Yakima with a .304 batting average. After three at-bats, he was 0 for 3, dipping his average to exactly .300, and he was due up in the eighth.

Spokane manager Jeff Garber preserved a .300 season for Montas by calling on Caruso to pinch hit.

Caruso, fighting injuries, hadn’t batted in a week. He struck out against Bears reliever Neal Hannah.

Caruso’s average dipped from .301 to .299.

What’s the point?

The high school football season kicked off in Texas this weekend, and with that new beginning comes the chance to dream big dreams.

At Carlisle, the dream is to score.

The Class A Indians never did that last year, losing all 10 games by a combined score of 361-0.

“When you go all year and don’t get to play the fight song because you don’t get into the end zone, that’s tough,” first-year coach Bo Martin said. “So, it’s going to be a big deal when we get on the scoreboard - and we’re going to score.”

Let’s hope a field goal is enough to make those dreams come true: Carlisle lost to Frankston 38-3 Friday.

The last word …

“I think Sam ought to lie on a couch and talk to somebody quietly, maybe with a little Mantovani playing in the background.”

- Bill Parcells, responding to TV analyst Sam Wyche’s prediction that the New York Jets will win the AFC East title this season.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo