He Gains Reputation as Bill-o’-the-Wisp

When Bill Walsh walked out as vice president of the San Francisco 49ers to become a football analyst for NBC, explaining that he needed a new challenge, Tony Kornheiser of the Washington Post wrote: “He was only in the front office long enough to find the back door out.”

Kornheiser visualizes this scenario after Walsh’s first day with NBC:

“Hi, honey, I’m home.”

“Oh, hi, Bill. How was your first day at work?”

“Not challenging enough, so I quit. Tomorrow I’m going to be an astronaut. I won’t actually go into space, of course, I’ll just take a tour of the capsule. Next week I’d like to be king of Norway.”

Add Kornheiser: “How about poor Merlin Olsen? Somebody quick send this guy an FTD pick-me-up bouquet. What a way to get dumped--to hear it on the radio! Nobody’s quite sure where they stand at NBC these days. You never know when Dick Ebersol’s going to pull your rabbit out of his hat. First, Mike Weisman, now Olsen. Who’s next? McGuire? Trevino? The Fight Doctor? Willard? Brokaw? Cos?”

Trivia time: In the 1960 World Series, before Pittsburgh’s Bill Mazeroski hit the home run that beat the New York Yankees, who hit the eighth-inning homer that put the Pirates into thelead?

For what it’s worth: Bo Jackson’s All-Star homer, announced as 448 feet in distance, was measured by an IBM system installed two years ago at Anaheim Stadium.

Jackson’s homer is the third longest at the stadium. Mark McGwire leads at 451 feet, followed by Eddie Murray at 450. Best of the Angels are Devon White and Brian Downing, both at 444 feet last season.

Add Bo: Said San Diego’s Tony Gwynn, after the All-Star game: “The game’s changing. I’ve seen it coming, guys like Kevin Mitchell and Will Clark--and especially Bo. Bo’s like a different breed. I’ve seen him do things this week that are scary. I’ve got to believe the Nike people are right. Bo can do it. He can do anything in this world.”

Wait a minute: From an Associated Press story on Jose Canseco’s traffic-ticket woes: “In February, Canseco was ticketed in Florida for driving 125 m.p.h. in his Jaguar, which had license plates reading, ‘Mr. 40-40.’ Canseco later said he was doing only 120 m.p.h.”

Only?

Cajun country: Ron Guidry, back in Lafayette, La., after his retirement from the New York Yankees, says of his hometown, “There’s not as much night life here as there is in New York. And there’s not as much day life, either.”

Add Guidry: When they asked him what he was earning after he signed his first big contract with the Yankees, he said, “I’ll be making more than Jimmy Carter. But not as much as BillyCarter.”

19 years ago today: On July 14, 1970, Pete Rose of Cincinnati bowled over Cleveland catcher Ray Fosse at the plate to score on Jim Hickman’s single in the 12th inning, giving the National League a 5-4 win over the American League in the All-Star game at Riverfront Stadium.

Trivia answer: Hal Smith. After replacing Smoky Burgess as the Pittsburgh catcher, he gave the Pirates a 9-7 lead in the eighth inning with a three-run homer. The Yankees tied the score in the top of the ninth, setting the stage for Mazeroski.

Quotebook: Dan Pastorini, drag racer and former NFL quarterback, on his brief film career: “They were kind of third-rate movies. No, they were most definitely third-rate movies.”