Cheap Seats
Reluctantly, the truth
NBA television analyst Isiah Thomas, in an interview with Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Sun-Times:
“Can you imagine how difficult it is for Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and myself to concede and say that (Michael Jordan) is the best?
“That’s how good he is. The people in Chicago know it and they love it, but not like we do. They have no idea what they really have.”
The legend keeps growing and growing
Mark McGwire’s mystique seems to grow daily, as Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post discovered while watching him take batting practice in St. Louis:
“When we played in Chicago, a guy drove all the way up from Florida just to see McGwire take BP,” Cardinals coach Rene Lachemann told Boswell.
“Then he never even came to Wrigley Field. He stayed (outside the stadium) beyond left field, trying to catch balls.”
The best place to catch a baseball hit by McGwire is definitely not within the confines of the playing field or, sometimes even the entire ballpark, added Boswell. Other players dial “1” for long distance. McGwire has to ask for an international operator.
Obviously, a ‘90s kind of guy
Running back Natrone Means, back with the San Diego Chargers, said he hoped to wear jersey No. 20 again. He asked safety Michael Dumas what he’d like in return for that number.
Always willing to oblige a teammate, Dumas said he’d be happy to hand over the jersey for $20,000.
Please. Say they’re talking Monopoly money.
On Clancy’s last stand
Ron Borges in the Boston Globe:
“Charlie Finley had the best description for a man like Tom Clancy: ‘Big hat, no cattle,’ the old Oakland A’s owner used to say about guys who were always saying they were ready to make an offer to buy his team right up until it was time to write the check.”
Borges suggests Clancy begin working on his latest novel: “The Hunt for Red Ink.”
For once, Charlie looks right.
Modern methods of gun safety
From the Gallery column in the San Diego Union-Tribune:
“Outdoors Tale of the Week: Two friends decide to go duck hunting. Neither one has been duck hunting before and after several hours they still haven’t bagged any.
“One hunter looks at the other and says, ‘I just don’t understand it - why aren’t we getting any ducks?’ The friend replies: ‘I keep telling you, I just don’t think we’re throwing the dog high enough.”’
Rich team, poor team
In the recent Montreal Expos-Atlanta Braves series, the three Braves starters - Denny Neagle, Greg Maddux and Dennis Martinez - have a combined 503 career victories. The three Expos starters - Miguel Batista, Javier Vazquez and Carl Pavano - have three.
The last word …
“With what’s happened to the (Florida) Marlins since last year’s World Series win, shouldn’t their stadium now be re-named Minor League Player Stadium?”
- Rob Parker of Newsday