Cheap Seats

New math or new economics?

Relief ace Trevor Hoffman, put off by the player exodus in San Diego, has upped his contract demands.

After nearly agreeing to a three-year, $15 million offer after the 1998 season, Hoffman now wants four years at $32 million from the Padres, saying, “If they can trade a 50-homer guy (Greg Vaughn), they can trade a 50-save guy.”

Home, home on el rancho grande

Juan Antonio Samaranch says he lives a simple life. Here’s a description of his home in Barcelona, Spain, from Jenny Tonge of the London Observer:

“The place is stuffed with art. High art. Art that wouldn’t look out of place in the great Spanish cathedrals or in the royal palaces of his friend the king of Spain.

“ … But the study is the epicenter of his ego - there are pictures of Samaranch with the pope, with the king of Spain, with Nancy and Ronald Reagan.”

He may believe these are pictures of them with him.

Davis to Elway: Sit, John. Stay!

Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis, saying he will do whatever it takes to stop teammate John Elway from retiring:

“I will physically threaten him. I will physically persuade him. I will sabotage every single vehicle he might drive away in. He has to come back.”

Now, he has a big lucky trucky

Even being lucky can present problems for 7-footers.

Georgia Tech basketball player Jason Collier won a local raffle last summer after his mother had entered his name.

“My mom had bought a ticket, filled in my name and forgotten about it,” the sophomore transfer from Indiana said. “Then, she calls me and tells me I won a truck.”

After confirming with Georgia Tech’s compliance department that Collier was eligible to accept the prize, he still had a problem.

“I originally got a GMC Sonoma, but it was too small and I couldn’t fit in,” he said. “So we had to trade it in for a full-size truck, a Ford F-150.”

In case you’re keeping track

The United Center lockers used by former Chicago Bulls Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen are now occupied by Rusty LaRue and Matt Steigenga, respectively.

Thanks, fans, now pay up

The Atlanta Falcons have raised ticket prices by as much as 24 percent for the 1999 season after they made the first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.

Single-game tickets will range from $37 to $41, an increase from $30 to $33 last season. The price for a season-ticket package will range from $330 to $370, up from $270 to $300 in 1998. However, the average price of about $39 a seat will still be below the NFL’s 1998 average of $42.86.

“Increased ticket revenue will assist the team in achieving its objective of maintaining a consistently competitive team in an escalating economic environment,” coach Dan Reeves said in a statement.

Just like the poor keeping up with the price of food?

The last word …

“We’re going to try to improve.”

- Former University of Idaho coach Tim Floyd, who inherited the Chicago Bulls without most of the stars who helped them win six recent NBA championships