These Days, Joyner-Kersee Is Never Grounded

Shades of O.J. Simpson. So busy is Jackie Joyner-Kersee with track meets and public appearances, she has been forced to do some of her workouts in airports.

Husband-coach Bob Kersee told Joe Gergen of Newsday: “She’s been training, literally, in airports, everyone’s gym and basements.

“A lot of times, if we can’t get a run in somewhere, she’ll run at the airport before we leave. In big airports like St. Louis and Chicago, you can get in 20-30 minutes of running.

“One time, in San Francisco, I tried to set up garbage pails for hurdles, but she wouldn’t go for it.”

Would-you-believe-it Dept.: Remember that item on writer Fran Blinebury of the Houston Chronicle getting slugged by General Manager Ladd Herzeg of the Houston Oilers at a 5-hour luncheon during which a waiter said six bottles of champagne were served?

Bill Livingston of the Cleveland Plain Dealer said the Houston papers reported that five bottles of champagne were served and two of them were left unopened, but they cost $145 a bottle.

Also, Herzeg reportedly ordered four ounces of beluga caviar at $85 an ounce.

The total tab for the lunch was $1,066--a “Norman Conquest figure,” said Blinebury--and the tip was $300.

Trivia Time: Who are the managers of the Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox? (Answer below.)

Ron Luciano, in his book “The Umpire Strikes Back,” tells of a spring game he worked in Florida: “It was really hot and a rookie--it’s always a rookie--walks up and says, ‘Look, Ron, it’s 110 degrees. I’m tired and I didn’t get in until 4 a.m. Run me out of here, will ya?’ I looked at him and said, ‘I’m hot, too. I weigh 300 pounds and I didn’t get in until 5 a.m. If I’m staying, you’re staying.’ ”

After the Dallas Mavericks had released Steve Alford, Jan Hubbard of the Dallas Morning News quoted National Basketball Assn. scout Marty Blake as saying, “Steve Alford just cannot play in the NBA.”

Alford has played 28 games for Golden State, averaging 12 minutes a game. He has been in double figures in 4 games, with a high of 15 points.

From quarterback Danny White of the Dallas Cowboys: “I’m not mentioning any names, but we have a deficiency in leadership among the veteran players. I think we need some good, strong leaders, guys who have a good influence on younger players.”

White said it in 1983.

John Wooden, disagreeing with those who would eliminate Proposal 42, suggested that athletes who don’t meet the scholarship requirements should attend National Collegiate Athletic Assn. Division II schools or junior colleges until they meet Division I standards.

“Saying that this is denying them an education is wrong. It is not,” Wooden told the Associated Press. “It just denies them going into Division I schools immediately. I think John Thompson and John Chaney are doing the group that they are most interested in an injustice. They’re saying they are great athletes, but they can’t make it academically. I think they can. I think they need incentive.”

Trivia Answer: Jim Lefebvre, Mariners; Nick Leyva, Phillies; Jeff Torborg, White Sox.

Quotebook

Brad Daugherty of the Cleveland Cavaliers, after teammate Larry Nance had set a team record with 11 blocked shots in a game: “There is one big difference when Larry and I go up in the air. When I go up, I come down. When he goes up, he stays there.”