This Is Why He Plays for<i> Expansion</i> Team

During a recent practice of the Charlotte Hornets, a reporter for the Charlotte Observer overheard former Clipper Tim Kempton, a 6-foot 10-inch, 245-pound center, telling a teammate that he could get a whole Whopper--a fast-food hamburger--in his mouth.

When the reporter told about the boast in the newspaper, Observer columnist Doug Robarchek was skeptical and bet Kempton one day’s pay, $200, that he couldn’t do it.

Kempton accepted, and Robarchek produced two Whoppers. Kempton grabbed one of the burgers, folded it double, shoved it in his mouth and then jammed it in all the way.

“I could see right away he was going to be able to get the Whopper in his mouth and still have room for (5-3, 140-pound guard) Muggsy Bogues,” Robarchek said.

Kempton gave his winnings to a Charlotte shelter for the homeless.

Still numb: Manager Davey Johnson of the New York Mets says he’s convinced that the Dodgers beat the Mets last year in the playoffs because they took a gamble he wouldn’t have taken.

“When you consider that (Orel) Hershiser was pitching every other day . . . “ Johnson said. “I’m amazed that he would do it.

“He’s a franchise player. I couldn’t have let him do it. I wouldn’t have taken that chance.

He added: “You’ve got to admire Hershiser, and the guts of (Manager Tom) Lasorda to do it. The chance he was taking . . . it was a tremendous gamble. The best thing that came out of it is that he didn’t hurt himself. . .It was a gutsy move.”

Drawing an ace: Princeton Coach Pete Carril, on drawing Georgetown in the East Regional at Providence, R.I.: “When I think about the pairings, I think about what I call the Titanic Theory.” Carril said.

“I mean, in that whole big ocean, it was just the luck of the draw that the ship and the ice found each other.”

Trivia: Who holds the American League record for most home runs by a shortstop?

No Magic: When asked what if Charles Barkley or Michael Jordan were playing for the Lakers or the Celtics instead of two of the NBA’s also-rans, forward James Worthy had this to say:

“If Michael or Charles had been with us, I think we would have had success, and there would have been a lot less pressure on them. But I’m not sure we would have won as many championships as we have.

“It takes a certain chemistry to make a championship team, and we have that with Magic (Johnson).

“What Magic has the ability to do is to make sure that everyone on the team is happy, that everyone gets the ball. Magic sees what every player on the team needs, and he immediately knows what he has to do.”

Trivia answer: Vern Stephens with 213. He played for four American League teams, including the St. Louis Browns, the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago White Sox and the Balitmore Orioles between 1941 and 1955.

Quotebook: Mark Calcavecchia, comparing the money available on the PGA Tour to salaries in baseball: “Baseball is ridiculous. You’ve got an outfielder standing out there picking his nose and catching three fly balls a day and hitting .220, and he’s making $1.9 million a year.”