Tastes Just Like a Chip Off the Old Trap Block

What weighs one-sixth of an ounce, contains 25 calories, has no cholesterol, preservatives or tropical oils, and comes in the shape of a football helmet?

The answer is Cookie Bowl I, the official NFL team cookie, part of American culture since Tuesday. It’s the first food product to be officially licensed by the league.

Manufactured by FFV/Interbake Foods, the helmet cookies feature the logos of all 28 NFL teams--more grist for critics of parity.

To date, there’s been no reaction from former pro running back Carleton (Cookie) Gilchrist. Note, however, that the cookies will be sold in grocery stores, not door-to-door by NFL scouts.

And this is only the first course. In the coming year, according to a spokesperson for NFL Properties’ Creative Services Division, the league also will announce the licensing of bread and five kinds of candy.

Trivia time: Who was the Cincinnati Reds’ last Cy Young Award winner?

Putting at Windmills: During last week’s Rochester International LPGA tournament, Santa Monica’s Amy Alcott talked about the putter she has been using for six years.

“It’s a Par X or something,” Alcott said.

Wondering where you can pick up a Par X? Alcott got hers, she said, at a miniature golf course.

“Will the owner of a . . .”: There’s nothing more bothersome than attending a tennis match, let alone a match at Wimbledon, with one’s dog. So leave Fido home. On Thursday, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reported that there had been 15 cases of dogs left in cars at the All England Club since the championships began on Monday.

Chief Inspector John Paul warned that, if necessary, his officers would break into cars to rescue any distressed dogs. Under English law, the owner of a car left with a dog inside could face six months’ imprisonment or a fine of 2,000 pounds.

Bass-tion of male superiority: This week’s news out of Montgomery, Ala., gives new meaning to the description, “Catch and release.”

The Bass Anglers Sportsman Society is rescinding its recent rule change allowing women to compete in its “Bassmaster” tournaments. The change came after about 100 of the association’s top pros, and some of their wives, signed a petition asking for the reversal. A subsequent survey of the full membership showed that the rank and file favored men-only competition by a ratio of three to one.

BASS Chief Executive Officer Helen Sevier said the initial rule change resulted from meetings with tournament fishermen’s representatives. “Apparently, either their true feelings were not reflected in those meetings,” she said, “or we misread their feelings or they had a change of heart.”

Trivia answer: The Reds have never had one.

Quotebook: Former New York Mets manager Davey Johnson, on why he isn’t eager to become a broadcaster: “I wouldn’t want to get that smart--at least not that quickly.”