Cheap Seats

Sunshine turns out lights

A 24-year-old woman scored a first round technical knockout over a 39-year- old man in a kickboxing match last Thursday night in Mesa, Ariz.

The scheduled three-round bout was stopped at the 1-minute, 20-second mark after Sunshine Fettkether dropped Randy Pittman with a kick to the head.

Pittman got up, staggered back to his corner, sat down and was counted out over the cheers and jeers of the standing room only crowd of 500 at the Nile Theater.

It was the second man vs. woman match this month in the United States.

On Oct. 10 in Seattle, Margaret McGregor dominated Loi Chow for four rounds. That was believed to be the first time a man fought a woman in a sanctioned boxing match.

Fettkether, who won a silver medal at an amateur boxing tournament last year, claimed she couldn’t find a female opponent for this anything-goes event.

Pittman, also of Mesa, listed brawls in bars as his only fighting experience.

The kickboxers wore gloves similar to boxing gloves and fought in accordance to Muay Thai rules, which permit punches and kicks to the head and body.

Grim comparison

Bill Conlin in the Philadelphia Daily News: “In the National League, where Chipper Jones and Jeff Bagwell are the favorites (for the MVP award), you can make a case for (the Houston Astros’) Billy Wagner, who has emerged as the most dependable closer since Dr. Jack Kevorkian.”

Kicking up her heels

At halftime last Friday night, Forest Grove (Ore.) High School senior Katie Smith put on her tiara, accepted a bouquet of roses and climbed into a black convertible for her coronation as homecoming queen.

But first she had to take off her football cleats.

But Smith, a kicker on the Vikings’ varsity squad, didn’t kick the extra point in Forest Grove’s 27-26 overtime victory over Dallas.

It didn’t make a difference to Smith’s classmates, both boys and girls.

“With Katie out there, it makes a good impact for girls, letting them know they can do it,” said freshman Jason Vanhorn.

Bruising the Bruins

Dwight Jaynes of the the Portland Oregonian on Oregon State’s 55-7 rout of UCLA on Saturday: “Holy Toledo, how could UCLA be this bad? They were inept on offense and worse than that on defense.

“… I mean losing the game is one thing. That can happen. But being absolutely run off the field is a joke. Give them back their handicapped-parking permits.”

The last word …

“Who’s that guy with Mia?”

- Daughter of Buffalo Bills quarterback Doug Flutie when she saw a TV commercial featuring Michael Jordan and Mia Hamm.