Tyson’s Marriage--As Contentious as Some of His Fights?

Mike Tyson’s marriage to TV actress Robin Givens apparently took his friends by surprise, especially co-manager Bill Cayton who said last month, “He’s a young man, and he’s not ready for marriage yet.”

Wallace Matthews of Newsday says the romance has been a stormy one.

Matthews: “According to a published report, one skirmish between Tyson and Givens ended when she smashed a Mercedes-Benz he loaned her into a Rolls-Royce he was driving.”

Tyson told the Amsterdam News last month: “She treats me like she’s so much better than me. At 21, I’m the heavyweight champion of the world, but she never lets me forget she was going to medical school and only dropped out to become a TV star and make lots of money.”

Trivia Time: Why do they call a pitch that is hit for a home run a “gopher ball”? (Answer below.)

Super Trivia: If you answer this one, you can go straight to the Trivia Hall of Fame. Name the only two pitchers since 1917 who have pitched more than 375 innings in a season? (Answer below.)

The Name Game: Taking a cue from UPI’s Keith Drum who wondered why more schools didn’t have appropriate nicknames such as the Stetson Hatters, Robert Brigham of Manhattan Beach sent in a list which included the following: Maine Events, Wake Forest Rangers, Bowling Green Giants, Cal Poly Esthers, Columbia Pictures, Hardin-Simmons Mattresses, Virginia Slims.

From Archie Barkan of Woodland Hills: Toledo Scales, Harvard Beets, Louisville Sluggers, Maine Liners, Southern Frieds.

With apologies, he also submitted Iona Piece of the Rocks and Tulane Highways. If you don’t get the last one, he says, “Give it a sec.”

Add Names: Playing his own All-Star game, AP’s Chris Bernucca came up with these NBA teams:

All-Occupation: Jim Farmer, Randy Breuer, Darwin Cook, Terry Porter, Granville Waiters.

All-Zoology: Buck Williams, Larry Bird, Joe Wolf, Rory Sparrow, Calvin Natt.

All-Nature: Marc Acres, Tree Rollins, Walter Berry, Doc Rivers, Leon Wood.

All-White House: Mark Jackson, Pearl Washington, Terry Tyler, Horace Grant, Alvan Adams.

Trivia Answer: Says Ray Corio of the New York Times: “The most common explanation is that when the pitch the pitcher decides to deliver doesn’t work, it can ‘go for’ a home run. But there’s also the line of thought that the expression reflects how a pitcher feels as he watches his pitch soar over a fence. He feels like digging a hole and crawling into it, gopher style.”

Super Trivia Answer: According to Boston Globe reader James Otowchits, they are Mickey Lolich and Wilbur Wood.

Quotebook

Eric Gregg, 300-pound National League umpire, to a trainer who put him on a rigorous weight-loss program: “Let’s not overdo this. I only have to call the bases, not steal them.”