Bo Jackson Takes Called Strike

How’s this for irony? Bo Jackson of the Kansas City Royals has yet to play a down for the Raiders but already finds himself on strike in the National Football League.

Says Murray Chass of the New York Times: “If he continues playing baseball, in a few years--1990, when baseball’s labor agreement expires--he could become a two-strike player. On the other hand, most of this season he’s been a three-strike player.”

Said Buffalo Bills nose tackle Fred Smerlas when asked about strike-breakers: “They’re dead men. Just look at it this way, if the truckers went on strike and they had scabs come in, how many new lily pads would there be in Lake Erie?”

When the Chicago Bears play next, there will still be a Payton in the lineup. Not Walter, of course. Not even Eddie, his brother, who played in the NFL. He’s Sean Payton, a quarterback from Eastern Illinois.

Payton’s professional experience consists of one season with the Chicago Bruisers of the Arena Football League--as a backup .

Trivia Time: What do linebacker Karl Mecklenburg of the Denver Broncos and tight end Todd Christensen of the Raiders have in common with linebacker Brian Bosworth of the Seattle Seahawks? (Answer below.)

Baltimore Orioles reliever Tom Niedenfuer has given up 10 home runs in 47 innings. The latest was a two-run shot by Boston’s Todd Benzinger, leading the Red Sox to a 6-3 win Sunday.

Asked about it, Niedenfuer said: “There is nothing to say. It was a home run. Why don’t you talk to Todd, or whatever his name is.”

Just Asking: If Toronto and Montreal meet in the World Series, will they still play the “Star Spangled Banner,” or will they just play “O Canada”?

Ray Arcel, 88-year-old trainer, wonders if Mike Tyson, now a millionaire, will be undone by the good life, as he claims Jack Dempsey was.

Looking back to 1925 when he visited Dempsey and his, actress wife, Estelle Taylor, at the Barbara Hotel in Los Angeles, Arcel said by phone from New York: “You could see then that he was losing his drive. He was making a lot of money in the movies, investing in hotels and houses. He was becoming a different kind of guy. When he was young and hungry, when he massacred Jess Willard in 1919, he had viciousness. He still had it against (Luis) Firpo. But at that point, see, he’d made a lot of money.

“Money takes the drive out of a fighter. I’ll be very interested to see how sharp Tyson looks in his next couple of fights.”

Add Arcel: He said that Dempsey owned the Barbara Hotel, where he and his wife lived. “And now,” Arcel added triumphantly, “I’m going to tell you that hotel was at the corner of 6th and Bonnie Brae. How’s that for a memory?”

76 Years Ago Today: Cy Young of the Boston Braves, at age 44, beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1-0, for his 511th and final major league victory.

Ten years ago today, Bert Blyleven, then of the Texas Rangers, pitched a no-hitter in beating the Angels, 6-0, at Anaheim Stadium.

A year ago, Fernando Valenzuela of the Dodgers became the first Mexican pitcher ever to win 20 games when he beat the Houston Astros, 9-2, with a two-hitter.

Trivia Answer: All three wear numbers that don’t correspond to their positions. Mecklenburg, who started as a defensive tackle, wears No. 77. Christensen, who started as a running back, wears No. 46. Bosworth wears No. 44, normally worn by running backs and defensive backs.

Quotebook

Michael Weisman of NBC Sports, declaring that the network won’t show Canadian Football League games during the strike: “During the last strike, we found out that the Calgary Stampeders aren’t exactly America’s team.”