Sparky Knows Trammell Won’t Last

When Detroit’s Alan Trammell went 3 for 5 while Boston’s Wade Boggs was going for 1 for 5 in Saturday’s game, Trammell moved into the American League batting lead.

Trammell was still leading after Sunday’s game, hitting .356 to Boggs’ .350, but Detroit Manager Sparky Anderson doesn’t think the lead will last long.

Of Boggs, he said, “He lets people borrow it for a few days every now and then just to let them know what it feels like.”

Boston Coach K.C. Jones said he got a good night’s sleep after the Celtics returned from Los Angeles, but the two blowouts obviously had left an impression.

“I woke up at seven in the morning,” he said, “and I thought I saw Magic. It was just my son.”

Add Magic: Of his continuing rivalry with Larry Bird, he says, “I’ll always want to beat him. After this is over, I’ll want to beat him in the all-star games in the summer, and after we retire I’ll want to beat him in the old-timers games, and after that I’ll be at the park and recreation centers trying to kill him.”

Utah Jazz Coach Frank Layden, interviewed at halftime Sunday, came up with the best line on the Isiah Thomas-Larry Bird flap when he said: “I never noticed that Bird was black or white. I didn’t even know he was human.”

Trivia Time: Who was the last pitcher to start and win a game in the World Series for both a National League and an American League team? (Answer in column two.)

From the Denver Post: “The bright lights of the television cameras do the strangest things to people. Take University of Michigan Coach Bill Frieder, who asked CBS sportscasters Dick Stockton and Tommy Heinsohn in Detroit, ‘Can you get me on camera? It’ll help me with recruiting.’

“Frieder didn’t stop there. First, he interrupted Stockton’s and Heinsohn’s pregame rehearsal. Later, he asked for tickets to the games in Boston.”

After he beat Bruce Crampton to win Sunday’s seniors tournament in Dallas, Chi Chi Rodriguez was asked how it was playing with the taciturn Australian.

“It was like playing with Ben Hogan,” Chi Chi said. “He just talks to you when you’re away.”

Add Chi Chi: His best year on the PGA tour was 1972 when he won $113,503. This year, on the seniors tour, he already has won $242,133.

Flying High: Anyone notice that Sunday was a big day for the Kites? While Tom was winning his biggest payoff ever in the Kemper Open, Greg was grabbing a season-high nine rebounds as the Celtics got back into business at Boston Garden.

Everyone keeps talking about all the home runs, but are they really hitting that many this year? Yes.

Writes Murray Chass of the New York Times: “The average for the first one-third of the season was 2.21 home runs per game, compared with 1.85 last year, a 19% increase.”

Trivia Answer: Tommy John. He won a game for the Dodgers against the New York Yankees in 1978 and won for the Yankees against the Dodgers in 1981.

Quotebook

Jim Sundberg of the Chicago Cubs, asked about a near miss with another plane during a team flight: “I don’t know how close it was, but the lady in 13D was having the chicken dinner.”