No Matter Which Way You Say It, Okoye Spells Trouble for Defenses

Collectors are in for a shock when they inspect the Action Packed football card for Kansas City Chief running back Christian Okoye. It has the following information on the back: “Okoye--ogbaoso ka ene na ike agu.”

But Norm Cohen of Newsday cautions that this isn’t a typographical error.

The phrase is from the Ebu dialect spoken in Okoye’s home province of Enugu. It is a translation of his name: “The speed of an antelope and the strength of a lion.”

Bobby Goldberg, the president of Hi-Pro Marketing, which manufactures the cards, said that the company originally wanted the line to say that Okoye has the speed of a sprinter and the strength of a lineman.

However, said Goldberg, “We found that there are no words in Ebu for sprinter or lineman.”

Trivia time: Which two major league teams have never drawn two million fans in a season?

Time traveler: Alan Greenberg of the Hartford Courant put together two long lists, one nostalgic, one thankful. Two of the things he misses:

“There was a time when a kid could name more presidents than sneaker brands . . .

“There was a time when tennis tournaments weren’t known as the Greater Des Moines Perrier Nabisco Tru Value Tiffany Cheese Doodles Pontiac-Toyota Ultra Slim-Fast Grand Slam Clay Court Congoleum Mixed Doubles Esprit Prix Open.”

Two of the things Greenberg doesn’t miss:

“There was a time when Joe Namath was considered controversial because he played wearing white shoes and had fluffy white carpet in his Manhattan apartment . . .

“There was a time when the media gave the American public the impression that Bill Russell was a good guy and Wilt Chamberlain was a jerk, when really it was the other way around.”

Old New York: On this day in 1902, John McGraw was hired as manager of the New York Giants, a job he would keep for 30 years.

On this day in 1948, after 8 1/2 years as Brooklyn Dodger manager, Leo Durocher left to become manager of the archrival Giants in midseason.

Cal-o-mania: The Baltimore Oriole public relations staff is working overtime to find every possible way of viewing the career of shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. Selected data:

Since Ripken’s consecutive-game streak began July 1, 1982, he has played alongside 21 second basemen (including John Lowenstein) and 28 third basemen (including Gary Roenicke).

Want more? Chris Speier started at shortstop for five teams during Ripken’s streak. Bucky Dent started for three and was fired as a manager. Larry Bowa started for two teams and was fired as a manager for a third. The 25 other major league clubs have used 333 starting shortstops, an average of 13 per team. The Yankees and Expos each have had 20.

Trivia answer: Pittsburgh and Seattle.

Quotebook: Tour de France cyclist Ronan Pensec, after catching flu Saturday: “I can’t cure it. Anything I want to take is on the forbidden drug list.”