He Didn’t Leave ‘Em Laughing

After his first meeting with Leeman Bennett, the man who succeeded John McKay as coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, linebacker Scot Brantley said: “He’s so nice, at first you wonder if he’s sincere.”

Wrote Larry Guest of the Orlando Sentinel: “The Bucs players and staff are fast learning that if Leeman Bennett is anything, he is sincere. Those who don’t have such a privileged vantage point don’t seem to care if he’s sincere. After nine years of John McKay’s arrogance, they’re just tickled pink to have someone who is civil.”

Added Guest: “Bennett is taking over a team that has won just eight games in the past two seasons under a deposed head coach who might finish second to the Ayatollah in a popularity contest.”

Do you get the idea that McKay’s one-liners, in Tampa, didn’t exactly have them rolling in the aisles?

Trivia Time: In the longest All-Star game in history, the National League beat the American League, 2-1, in 15 innings at Anaheim Stadium in 1967. Who hit the game-winning homer? (Answer below.)

If you old Red Sox fans are still wondering why Ted Williams and his fence-busting buddies were always finishing behind the New York Yankees with Joe DiMaggio, ex-Boston center fielder Dominic DiMaggio has the answer.

At the Old-Timers game honoring Joe D. at Yankee Stadium, Dom D. told the New York Times: “We never had a great catcher. The one year we won the pennant, Hal Wagner was our catcher, but just imagine if we had a catcher like Carlton Fisk.”

Of Fisk, who is hitting more home runs than ever with the Chicago White Sox, Dominic said: “I can’t imagine how the Red Sox let him go.”

Twelve Years Ago Today: On July 15, 1973, Nolan Ryan of the Angels struck out 17 batters in beating the Detroit Tigers, 6-0, for his second no-hitter of the year and second of his career. His first no-hitter came on May 15, a 3-0 win over Kansas City.

Let’s hear it for the Golden Hurricane. Nancy Lopez couldn’t do it, but another University of Tulsa product came through to take the prize Sunday at Baltusrol.

Kathy Baker, the new U.S. Women’s Open champion, represented Tulsa in the first NCAA women’s tournament in 1982 and won the individual title.

No, Al Oliver hadn’t lost any power--he was just working on the wrong side of the border.

Since being dealt from the Dodgers to the Toronto Blue Jays last week, Oliver has hit two home runs. That’s two more than he had hit since 1983, when he was with Montreal. He was homerless all last season with San Francisco and Philadelphia and hadn’t connected for the Dodgers in 1985.

Oliver’s biggest year was 1982, when he hit 22 homers for the Expos, a career high, and tied for the National League RBI title with 109.

Said Dan Quisenberry after the Kansas City Royals outlasted the Cleveland Indians, 9-5, in a comedy of errors Sunday: “This game will not be remembered in the annals of baseball history. Mediocrity strikes again.”

Trivia Answer: Tony Perez of Cincinnati.

Quotebook

San Francisco’s Dan Gladden, on why he was wrestling instead of fighting with Pittsburgh pitcher Rick Rhoden after being hit by a pitch Sunday: “I was going for the two-point takedown.”