Maybe Next They Will Declare Fireworks to Be Unconstitutional

Don’t let Jesse Helms or Newt Gingrich get word of this, but Monday night at Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium, of all places, they burned Old Glory.

The American flag flying 50 feet above the stands in center field was accidentally ignited by fireworks after the Philadelphia Phillies’ game with the Houston Astros. As thousands watched, the flag quickly went up in flames.

With another fireworks display scheduled after tonight’s game, the new Stars and Stripes has been moved temporarily to another pole.

“It’s never happened before, but we’re not taking any chances,” spokesman Larry Shenk said.

Trivia time: Which active NBA coach has the most victories, regular season and playoffs?

The fat lady sings: Notes from Italy after its World Cup semifinal loss to Argentina . . .

A headline in Wednesday’s Tuttosport newspaper: “The Dream is Over.”

Italian Coach Azeglio Vicini: “We can’t hide this sadness.”

Television commentator Aldo Biscardi: “These scenes are very painful for all of us but we have to show them.”

Meaty issue: In a recent story about agents and incentive clauses in player contracts, Duriel Harris, former Miami Dolphin wide receiver, told Greg Cote of the Miami Herald about his negotiations with Dolphin owner Joe Robbie in 1982.

“He had over 5,000 head of black Angus, real good beef cattle,” Harris said. Harris asked Robbie for one heifer for each touchdown pass he caught. “He was going to go for it,” Harris said. “He invited me out to his ranch to meet his foreman.”

Harris changed his mind, saying: “What if I picked a sterile cow?”

Add contracts: In 1978, the Rams were ready to trade linebacker Jack (Hacksaw) Reynolds to Baltimore, but Reynolds asked for a contract clause the Colts couldn’t fulfill. Ernie Accorsi, now a Cleveland Brown vice president, was the Colts’ public relations director at the time. Said Accorsi: “(Reynolds) wanted to be the only guy in the league with a blank uniform.”

Those French: Custom dictates that when the Tour de France reaches the hometown of a competing cyclist, he is allowed to ride ahead as that stage’s temporary leader. Gerard Rue, born in Rennes, got to do it Tuesday. After embracing his family, Rue, as custom also dictates, waited for the rest of the pack.

Mixed metaphor: Bill Atchley, former Clemson University president who was fired in 1986 during a power struggle with then-Athletic Director Bill McLellan, told David Davidson of the Atlanta Journal:

“It used to be we had this big building, a big academic house with a little outhouse in the back, a small building called athletics.

“But the little outhouse kept growing. There was no architecture, no plans, but suddenly it’s bigger than the academic house. . . . It got out of proportion. Now it’s like putting toothpaste back in the tube. What you need is a new tube.”

Trivia answer: Dick Motta, 890.

Quotebook: Former Kansas guard Milt Newton, on playing in the Continental Basketball Assn.: “Sometimes I think the CBA is there only to give you the inspiration to get out of there.”