He’ll Be Trying to Put Himself in Record Book, Driver’s Seat

Roger Kingdom, world record-holder in the 110-meter high hurdles, said Monday: “I’m in perfect condition for a world-record attempt.”

If Kingdom can convert condition to performance Wednesday night at Sestriere, Italy (elevation 6,668 feet), he will have done more than improve his record. He will receive the $200,000 Ferrari Testarossa meet organizers are offering as an incentive for any world record.

But, what happens if, say, sprinter Linford Christie or Leroy Burrell also sets a world record?

Ride-sharing?

Add Ferrari: According to the Associated Press, in case more than one world record is broken in Sestriere, “the award will go to the athlete setting the mark deemed most significant.”

Trivia time: Since 1968, the first year of the “open era,” how many times has a left-hander won the U.S. Open men’s singles tennis championship?

The game was young: Cy Young’s highest salary was $5,000 a year. Jose Canseco’s contract works out to over $29,000 a game.

Not monkeying around: Oakland Athletic Manager Tony La Russa had Monday off, so he went to Las Vegas, but not for fun.

He was there with his wife and their two children to attend a court trial. An outspoken animal rights advocate, La Russa recently learned that an entertainer at a Las Vegas nightclub had been accused of physically abusing an orangutan before his performances, supposedly to calm the animal.

Animal rights activists sued the entertainer, who filed a countersuit.

La Russa told Ron Krolchick of the Sacramento Bee: “This is not some kind of fun thing, where we’re going to Vegas to catch a couple of shows. I was looking forward to this off day in a big way. But we put our heads together and we’re going to go there.”

Impact player: The laws of probability say that an overwhelming percentage of basketball players will never make the big money. But at Citizens Bank in Wheaton, Md., Friday, one man ignored the odds.

FBI spokesman Jim Dearborn told the Associated Press: “He came in dribbling this basketball until he got the teller’s attention. He then slipped her a note and, when she looked up, he was standing there with this grenade.”

The robber terminated the dribble, told her to hurry up and fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash . . . clearly a traveling violation.

Poisoned pans: During its 17-day run, which ended Sunday, the 1990 Goodwill Games earned the nickname “Games of the II Goodwilliad” among media jokesters.

The wags on press row also amended the Games’ motto, “Uniting the world’s best,” to “Uniting a few of the world’s pretty good.”

Holy crow: Monday’s Morning Briefing item about Phoenix Cardinal Coach Joe Bugel’s mispronouncing quarterback Gary Hogeboom’s name reminded longtime Chicago Cub fan Roger Sande that Cub announcer Harry Caray has called second baseman Ryne Sandberg “Sanders”, “Sanderson” and “Santo” this season.

Trivia answer: Twelve: Rod Laver, 1969; Jimmy Connors, ‘74, ‘76, ‘78, ‘82, ‘83; Manuel Orantes, ‘75; Guillermo Vilas, ‘77; John McEnroe ‘79, ‘80, ‘81, ’84.

Quotebook: Catcher Dann Bilardello, recently sent to the minors by the Pittsburgh Pirates: “I’m trying not to put too much pressure on myself, but I’m putting too much pressure on myself not to put too much pressure on myself.”