Oski’s Misbehavior Draws Ire in Berkeley

Oski the Bear, mascot of the University of California since 1941, hasn’t been acting his age.

Oski was suspended indefinitely after throwing a two-layer cream cake into the crowd during Sunday’s game against Oregon State at Berkeley. Among those splattered was the family of Oregon State All-American candidate Gary Payton.

In a memo to the Oski Committee, those who wear the bear’s cardigan and full-face mask, William Manning, Cal’s director of recreational sports, said: “Young people look to Oski as something almost mythical. It demands extraordinary behavior, and we’re just not getting it.”

Trivia time: Who holds the USC school record for longest punt?

Lines cross: Richard Cole of Cleveland, co-owner of a company that sells sanitary napkins, wasn’t amused by a headline that appeared in the San Diego County edition of The Times Thursday.

The headline on a column by Dave Distel, San Diego County sports editor, said: “Have a Credit Card Ready and Call Now! 1-800-BUY PADRES.” The number for Cole’s Emslee Products is 1-800-BUY PADS. Cole said: “Our phone has been ringing all day. My secretary can’t get any work done, I’m losing orders, I’m paying 12 cents per minute for every call, what in the hell are you people doing out there?”

What did Cole tell callers? “I told them, ‘Listen, I can’t sell you a baseball team, but if you need sanitary napkins, toilet-seat covers or diapers, I’m your man. I didn’t make a single sale.”

Sizing them up: Terry Crisp, coach of the Calgary Flames, on the absence of Mark Hunter because of a knee injury: “We’ve got to get to the other team’s net better and clear in front of our net better. Look at Philadelphia. Jeff Chychrun and Jay Wells are 8-foot-4. And Kjell Samuelsson’s got to be 11 feet high. And here’s poor little Theo Fleury chinning hmself on their kneecaps to score.”

Trivia answer: Ram offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese, 85 yards against Wisconsin in 1956.

Quotebook: Joe Vigil, U.S. Olympic distance-running coach, on coaching for more than 30 years in remote Alamosa, Colo.: “I’m in heaven here, and my runners are my angels.”