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Whittingham Gives Answer Without Blinking an Eye

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Trainer Charlie Whittingham was asked if he was considering blinkers for Sunday Silence after the colt’s zigzag stretch run to victory in the Kentucky Derby.

“I’m not the greatest blinkers man,” Whittingham said. “It’s usually riders and owners that are always pushing for you to use blinkers.”

Whittingham recalled a time that former jockey Ralph Neves rode a horse that finished up the track.

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Afterward, Neves said to Whittingham: “I think you need to put blinkers on this horse.”

Responded Whittingham: “He’s already wearing blinkers.”

Said Neves: “Well, then, take them off.”

Life’s little mysteries: Pitcher Larry Andersen of the Houston Astros is, well, kind of a strange guy. For fun, he once tried to see how many sunflower seeds he could stick to his face. When he was through, he looked as though dozens of bees had stopped to visit.

But what Andersen likes best is to contemplate the world around him, and question. For instance, he would like to know, why do you drive on a parkway and park on a driveway?

And if you’re two for two as a hitter, as he was earlier this year, why isn’t your average 2.000, not 1.000?

Trivia time: Why is the name of the Portland Rosebuds on the Stanley Cup?

Calling Miss Piggy: Catcher Benito Santiago of the San Diego Padres, who was benched three times recently, has been told by the Padres to grow up.

Said Santiago: “If I grow up any more, I’ll be Big Bird.”

Trivia answer: In 1916, the Rosebuds won the Pacific Coast Hockey Assn. title, unseating the defending champion Vancouver Millionaires. Since the Millionaires had won the Cup in 1915, the Rosebuds assumed they were the rightful heirs to the Cup and had their name engraved on it as champions, according to Joe Romain, curator of the Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum in Toronto.

The Rosebuds, however, still had to play a challenge series against the Montreal Canadiens, winners of the National Hockey Assn. The Canadiens won the series and are recognized as the Stanley Cup champions for 1916. The Rosebuds, though, still have their name on the Cup.

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Add forgettable quotes: From Chris Mullin of the Golden State Warriors, on the NBA playoffs: “I don’t know who’s calling us underdogs. I don’t know who those people are. I hope they’re not trying to feed their families making predictions.”

For the record: Morning Briefing, being only human(?), was slightly in error recently in trivia time and an observation on memorable comebacks.

Last Sunday’s trivia question, dealing with the various MVPs who wore No. 32 in 1963, missed on two counts. Cookie Gilchrist of the Buffalo Bills was neither the MVP in the American Football League that year, nor did he wear No. 32. Gilchrist wore No. 34, and Clem Daniels of the Oakland Raiders, who wore No. 36, was the AFL’s player of the year.

Then, Tuesday’s Morning Briefing said that in 1952, the Rams began a comeback against the Packers in Green Bay that led them from a 28-6 deficit to a 30-28 victory with a field goal by Bob Waterfield. Actually, the game was in Milwaukee and the comeback began when Deacon Dan Towler scored from a yard out. Waterfield kicked the field goal after that.

Quotebook: Another puzzlement posed by Astro pitcher Larry Andersen: “Why is it always raining cats and dogs? Why doesn’t it ever rain yaks and wildebeests?”

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