Racy Movie Not Fit for Grandma’s Eyes

The Stars & Stripes VIP boat for the America’s Cup races was equipped with television monitors to pick up the ESPN signal, but during Friday’s race some wires got crossed.

Suddenly, the screens showed a hard-core, adult-type movie.

Dennis Conner’s daughter, Shana, said to Conner’s mother, “Grandma, don’t look.”

Now-it-can-be-told Dept.: Stanford’s Brian Johnson, like USC’s Rodney Peete, also plays baseball and says he was determined to play both sports in college.

“I like USC,” he told the Daily Trojan, “but Coach Tollner told me he was not interested in another two-sport quarterback.”

Johnson, a sophomore, hit .319 as a left fielder last spring as Stanford won its second straight NCAA title. At Skyline High School in Oakland, he hit .539 and set a record with two grand slams in one inning.

Trivia Time: Among NFL quarterbacks who have made at least 20 starts, who had the best winning percentage starting the 1988 season? (Answer below.)

Javelin thrower Karin Smith, a four-time Olympian, told Track & Field News: “I’ll compete as long as I can remain competitive. Then I’ll move to Liechtenstein, change my name and make the team there.”

Then there’s Brian Oldfield. Asked why he’s not retiring, the shotputter said, “I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.”

Oldfield is 43.

Said Mike Ditka, when asked how the Chicago Bears would try to hold down Eric Dickerson of the Indianpolis Colts today: “To hold him under 100 yards, you have to sacrifice too many other things. You have to give up pass coverage and everything else. I don’t see that happening.”

In the 1985 NFC championship game against the Rams, the Bears held Dickerson to 46 yards in 17 carries. The Bears won the game, 24-0.

John Eisenberg of the Baltimore Sun, on Andre Agassi: “Jimmy Connors thinks he’s a jerk, which is interesting, for Connors has long been the standard against which tennis jerks were measured.”

Eisenberg added: “Agassi has demonstrated a playful on-court persona that’s engaged fans and played well on TV. But he’s also displayed a galling impudence. In July, for instance, far ahead in a Davis Cup match in Argentina, he caught a serve instead of playing it. He thought it was funny. It was just arrogant.”

Jose Canseco, with 37 homers and 35 stolen bases on Sept. 9, was a good bet to become baseball’s first 40-40 man, but Tim Kurkjian of the Baltimore Sun noted that on the same date in 1973 Bobby Bonds had 38 homers and 39 steals and didn’t make it. He wound up with 39 homers and 43 steals.

Three Years Ago Today: On Sept. 11, 1985, Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds became the all-time leader with his 4,192nd hit, breaking Ty Cobb’s record. Rose lined a 2-1 pitch off San Diego pitcher Eric Show to left-center field for a single in the first inning. It came on the 57th anniversary of Cobb’s last game in the majors.

Trivia Answer: Jay Schroeder. He had a 24-7 record for a percentage of .774. He was followed by Jim McMahon .750, Dan Marino .696, John Elway and Joe Montana each .684 and Danny White .674.

Quotebook

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andy Van Slyke, on teammate and buddy, pitcher Dave LaPoint: “He uses most of his God-given ability, which isn’t much.”