It’s Golf That Can Age You

John Brodie knows something about pressure. He faced it for 17 years as a National Football League quarterback and for 11 years as a TV analyst.

He says it was nothing compared to what he faced in qualifying for the Seniors golf tour last December in Florida.

“They take eight spots and I’m sitting around 10th,” Brodie told Todd Phipers of the Denver Post. “The two guys I’m playing with are shooting about 80, and I’m just grinding, just trying to survive.

“You talk about choking. There were 380 competitors trying to get eight spots, and by the time it got down to the final day, you couldn’t get anybody to speak lower than a high soprano out there. There were some sopranos who are about 60 years old.”

Brodie somehow managed to shoot a 71 on a day when 77 was the average score. He finished fifth and earned his card.

“Guys were shooting scores you couldn’t believe,” he said. “They were just trying to get it over with, and I can understand why. It was like, ‘Hey, I’m too old. I don’t have to go through this.’ It was a hair-raising experience and I hope I never have to go through it again.”

Add Brodie: Of his two brief flings at the regular tour in 1959 and 1960, he said: “I was nothing special. I held Tony Lema back about a year and a half. That’s about my only contribution to the tour. We were roommates and leading money-spenders.”

When Julius Erving was honored before his last game in Chicago Stadium, Johnny Kerr, a former National Basketball Assn. center who now is the Bulls’ announcer, was the emcee.

Said Kerr: “This man had an illustrious high school career, an illustrious college career and an illustrious career in the pros. But enough about me.”

Add Kerr: “I’ll tell you why I retired,” he said. “I was driving down the lane one game and the ref called me for three seconds.”

Trivia Time: In what year did Man o’ War win the Kentucky Derby? (Answer below.)

Charles Bricker of the Knight-Ridder News Service rated the best assistant coaches in the NFL after polling the league’s head coaches. Among them were Hudson Houck of the Rams (offensive line) and Willie Brown of the Raiders (defensive backs).

Of Houck, Bricker wrote: “He has been with the Rams since 1983, building big, overpowering lines that make life comfortable for Eric Dickerson. Typical comment: ‘You probably never heard of this guy, but I guarantee you everyone in the NFC has.’ ”

Of Brown, he said: “A great player and a great coach. He helped make a star out of Lester Hayes. Typical comment: ‘You can count on one thing with Willie. His guys will line up in your face and knock your block off every time.’ ”

Now-it-can-be-told Dept.: Kansas City Royal shortstop Angel Salazar tells why he let an easy pop-up off the bat of Detroit’s Dwight Lowery drop between him and left fielder Bo Jackson: “It was my fault all the way. When I saw Bo, I didn’t want to crash into him. If I do that, I’m done playing. My career’s over. Hey, my mom still needs me.”

Trivia Answer: Man o’ War did not run in the Kentucky Derby as a 3-year-old in 1920. The race was won by Paul Jones. Man o’ War entered the Preakness and Belmont, the other Triple Crown races, and won both.

Quotebook

Rocky Bridges, recalling his stint as manager of the San Jose Bees: “On our last trip to Reno, I lost the bus and two outfielders, but I won a shortstop and a bat.”