Come On Herschel, You Don’t Mean It, Do You?

Herschel Walker of the Dallas Cowboys is still entertaining the notion of challenging Mike Tyson. Walker, who said publicly at least twice last year that he would like to fight the heavyweight champion, said it again recently at a press conference.

“If you gave me time to train, yeah, I’d fight him,” Walker said. “I’d box him. People said, ‘You’re crazy.’ I guarantee you that if I had the time to train, it wouldn’t be any first-round knockout. Herschel Walker doesn’t go too many places where he’s not ready to compete. This would be no different!”

Trivia time: At the start of the 1989 season, there were 142 former California League players on major league rosters. The leaders were Stockton with 21, Reno with 18, and Fresno and Modesto with 17 each. Santa Barbara has one, even though it hasn’t been in the league for 21 years. Who is that player?

Sour grapes?Coach Buddy Ryan of the Philadelphia Eagles, whose team doesn’t have a first-round pick in Sunday’s National Football League draft, and doesn’t get its first choice until the middle of the second round--No. 49--was lamenting the quality of the prospects that will be available for Philadelphia.

“The draft is so weak I might want to take all the picks in the fifth through 12th rounds and trade them for a guy in 1990,” he said.

Lost in translation: Phil Rizzuto, the New York Yankees’ announcer, had this to say about the Montreal Expos during a spring training broadcast: “They’ve got so many Latin players we’re going to have to get a Latin instructor up here (in the booth).”

Credibility gap: The Lakers’ home record of 34-6 suggests that not only do they have a big advantage at the Forum, but something else, according to Frank Layden, president and former coach of the Utah Jazz.

“Their credibility is unbelievable,” he said. “A lot of teams in the league hold the Lakers in awe. And when you go into the Forum, that goes along with referees, too. You’re always playing them (at the Forum) with the idea that if you’re 10 points ahead, they’re going to come up with a 10-point play.”

Trivia answer: Charlie Hough, 41, of the Texas Rangers. He pitched for Santa Barbara--then a Dodger farm team--in 1967.

Charged up: The power outage that caused a 90-minute delay before the second game of the Patrick Division finals between the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League playoffs seemed to help the Flyers’ cause.

“We were so wired,” left wing Doug Sulliman said. “We couldn’t watch TV while we were waiting, so we just took off our uniforms and sat around telling war stories. I think it helped everyone relax.”

Just another game: The hoopla surrounding the investigation of Pete Rose’s gambling may have an adverse affect on some of the younger Cincinnati Reds, but the attention hasn’t bothered veteran outfielder Ken Griffey, who told Dave Nightingale of the Sporting News: “Is this a distraction?” he repeated. “Hey if you want to talk distractions remember that I played for the New York Yankees for five years.”

Add Yankees: Lou Piniella, former manager and now special adviser for the club, when he learned that Clyde King, 63, another special adviser, had suffered five broken ribs this week in a fall from a tree house: “George (Steinbrenner) has him looking for talent everywhere.”

Quotebook: Jesse Jackson, in his eulogy of Sugar Ray Robinson: “When God rang the bell and ended the fight last week, the world cried out for one more round.”