Cheap Seats
Some like it not
Ever wonder about the validity of items listed at sports memorabilia auctions?
The latest is a stocking allegedly worn by Marilyn Monroe on her honeymoon night with Joe DiMaggio at the Clifton Motel in Paso Robles, Calif. Apparently someone spied it in a wastebasket after the DiMaggios checked out and saved it for posterity.
Forty-six years later, it has surfaced as an auction item. Bidding starts at $500, and it is expected to sell for more than $3,000 at the Mastro Fine Sports Auction.
Among other items listed is a “bat used by DiMaggio from his minor league days with the Oakland Seals.”
As any old Pacific Coast League fan knows, it was the San Francisco Seals.
Little choice
An article in GQ magazine claims that former Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler abused and humiliated his players. To which MSNBC commentator Michael Ventre said, “It’s a good thing this didn’t come out years ago, or the Wolverines would have lost many recruits to a more easygoing and compassionate rival coach like Woody Hayes.”
Stolen opportunity
Florida State wide receiver Peter Warrick seemingly had the Heisman Trophy locked up until his arrest for theft - underpaying for designer clothes at a Tallahassee, Fla., department store.
Heisman voter Bruce Hooley of The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer says, “I think the Heisman stands for something more than what he stood for at Dillard’s (department store).”
Curses!
Rod Beck gave up the winning home run as the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of the American League championship series.
The question, as supplied by Jay Marriotti of the Chicago Sun-Times: “So, what in the hex happens when you combine an ex-Cub with the Curse of the Bambino on a rainy night in Yankee Stadium?”
Nothing to say, except …
Baltimore Orioles outfielder Albert Belle, when asked about the firing of manager Ray Miller:
“He developed some bad relationships with players that caused players to leave the team and players to lose respect for him. But I have nothing bad to say about the guy.”
Made for the job
Jon Saraceno in USA Today: “Is Oakland quarterback Rich Gannon the quintessential Raider, or what? `I’m a jerk,’ he told the San Jose Mercury News. `I’ve always liked being a jerk.”’
The last word …
“Sixty percent of the earth’s surface is covered by water; the other 40 percent is covered by Andruw Jones.”
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution