Cheap Seats

Titanic mistake?

Singer Celine Dion is being mentioned as a possible investor in the group Mario Lemieux is putting together to try to buy his former team, the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins.

Writes Kevin Paul DuPont of the Boston Globe, “How wise would it be to have a co-owner whose voice is synonymous with a sinking ship?”

The last word in home-run chases

Think Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa faced a lot of pressure last year in their pursuit of Roger Maris’ single-season home-run record?

Here’s real pressure: Todd Zeile’s pursuit of Gus Zernial.

With 159 home runs, Zeile needs 79 to surpass Zernial’s total and thus become the major league leader among those players whose last name starts with a “Z.”

T.R. Sullivan of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram came up with the statistic.

“The question is whether (Zeile) could endure the mounting pressure and national media attention that comes with epic homerun pursuits,” Sullivan said.

A pointless cover

It doesn’t take a whole lot of athletic prowess to get your mug on the cover of Sports Illustrated these days.

A couple weeks ago, supermodel Rebecca Romijn graced the cover of the nation’s premier sports magazine wearing little more than a basketball net.

And this week, at least on the West Coast, Stanford’s Jason Collins has the front of the March Madness issue all to his lonesome.

Problem with that is, Romijn and Collins scored the same amount of points in the NCAA West Regional - zero.

Collins was supposed to be a key reserve for the Cardinal this season, but didn’t play in Stanford’s firstround victory over Alcorn State or second-round defeat to Gonzaga because of an injury.

But SI knew that going in. It says so on page 128 of the current issue.

“ … but injuries to key reserves Jason Collins and Ryan Mendez mean Stanford isn’t as deep as last year,” the magazine states.

Then how did Collins get on the cover? Sort of like overlooking Gonzaga, it was a mistake, pure and simple.

“It was a last-minute mistake that slipped past us,” SI senior publicist Joe Assad said.

Yankees have no time for this

Roger Clemens’ favorite uniform number is 21. When he joined the Toronto Blue Jays two years ago, that number was worn by Carlos Delgado. Clemens gave Delgado a Rolex watch in exchange for No. 21.

When he was traded to the New York Yankees, Clemens found outfielder Paul O’Neill wearing 21. Clemens took No. 12.

“Paul O’Neill doesn’t need a Rolex,” explained teammate David Cone.

Just wait, baby

Oakland Raiders attorney Joe Alioto disputes commissioner Paul Tagliabue’s comment that the Raiders aren’t a factor in Los Angeles’ bid for an NFL franchise. The Raiders claim they still own the rights to Los Angeles.

Said Alioto: “In this country, anybody is allowed to say anything. (Paul) Tagliabue usually does. And as usual, he’s dead wrong.”

The last word …

“Northwestern’s postseason history is about as long as a gnat’s tongue.”

- Chicago Tribune columnist Bernie Lincicome, reflecting on the Wildcats’ basketball program after it received an NIT invitation