Buckner Is Hoping to Become a Sleeper in Red Sox Comeback

Bill Buckner, returning to the Boston Red Sox, probably hopes he will have better luck with roommates. The last time, he got stuck with a rookie who snored. It got so bad Buckner went to Manager Ralph Houk to complain.

“Can’t you stand a little snoring?” said Houk.

“It’s not the snoring so much,” said Buckner, “but the tugboats in the harbor have started answering him.”

Fallen comrades: At the NFL winter meeting, they take a group picture of the coaches. Atlanta’s Jerry Glanville said he has a photo from one meeting that contains only a few coaches who are still active.

“They’re like fighter pilots,” he said. “I’ve got ‘em all Xed off.”

Trivia time: What do thoroughbred owner Kjell Qvale, Hall of Fame sprinter Mel Patton and UCLA tailback Kevin Williams have in common?

Wait a minute: “Give my congratulations to the Oakland Raiders,” said Oakland A’s coach Rene Lachemann upon hearing that Al Davis was returning. “They’re my kind of people--nasty and winners.”

Over the past four years the Raiders are 28-35.

Irish tabbed: The College Football Writers of America have picked Notre Dame to win the 1990 national championship. Florida State is picked second, followed by Illinois, Miami, Colorado, USC, Auburn, Tennessee, Michigan and Nebraska.

The Irish lose Tony Rice, who will be replaced at quarterback by Rick Mirer.

Said All-American cornerback Todd Lyght: “Mirer is going to be real good. He’s a different type of player than Rice. He’s a better passer. We’ll be throwing a lot more and using Rocket a lot more.”

Rocket is Raghib Ismail, the super-swift, all-purpose receiver.

Hoosier hotshot: In John Feinstein’s book, “A Season on the Brink,” Indiana Coach Bob Knight calls eighth-grader Damon Bailey better than any of his guards, including Steve Alford.

Bailey is a 12th-grader now, at Bedford-North Lawrence, and has become the all-time scorer in Indiana prep history.

Said Indianapolis high school coach Ray Crow, who coached Oscar Robertson: “I would put him in Oscar’s category. You see kids come along who are good shooters or good rebounders or do one or two things well. But he’s like Oscar. He does everything well.”

Yes, Bailey is headed for Indiana.

Ouch: Terry Boers of the Chicago Sun-Times, on CBS basketball analyst Hubie Brown: “Just being around him for a few days makes me all the more sure that when Brown flies he has to buy two seats--one for him, one for his ego.”

Trivia answer: All three have won the 100 in Pacific 10 track and field championships--Kvale (Washington) 1941, Patton (USC) 1947-49 and Williams (UCLA) 1989.

Quotebook: Pitcher Britt Burns, on his comeback dream with the New York Yankees: “I make the team. I pitch the fourth game of the season. I leave the clubhouse and I have a date with one of the top 10 models in the world.”