Turning Down the Guy With Checkered Past

The Baltimore Orioles supposedly were kicking around the idea of inviting former President Richard Nixon to throw out the first ball at their Memorial Stadium opener next year.

“That wouldn’t be right,” you’re saying? Do you recall the events of opening day in Baltimore in 1954, when Nixon threw out the first ball? At that point in time, he was vice president, and the Orioles were playing their first game at the stadium, having recently moved from St. Louis, where they had been the Browns.

Kathy O’Connor, an aide to Nixon, said: “I’m sure it’s something he’d look at and consider. He has not done this kind of thing in a long time.”

Of course, if Nixon can’t make it, the Orioles will probably pardon him. In fact, they have. They said Wednesday that they have no intention of inviting him.

Trivia time: Who holds the Pittsburgh Steelers’ record for most interceptions thrown in a season?

Away game: The University of Maine’s football team leaves Bangor airport this morning on a trip that will cover 5,500 miles and six time zones in 15 hours, with stops in Boston, Dallas-Ft. Worth and finally Honolulu, where the Black Bears will play the University of Hawaii Saturday.

It’s the longest school-to-school trip in NCAA football history, matching the easternmost team in Division I-AA with the westernmost team in Division I-A.

Add Maine trip: School publicist Matt Borque said that the Maine coaching staff and players, who are 0-4 this season, welcome the opportunity to get away from it all. But they’re equally concerned about recovering from jet lag in time to prepare for their game at home against Rhode Island on Oct. 13.

Speaking of yawning, Borque also noted that the Black Bear television network will show the Maine-Hawaii game live at 1:05 a.m. Sunday, Maine time.

Said Borque: “I’m not sure how the ratings will be, but if they’re good, this sort of thing might catch on.”

Speak for yourself: Philadelphia Eagle Coach Buddy Ryan recently assessed the situation in the Middle East.

Said Ryan: “Iraq’s trying to run a gut check on us.”

Pan-Pan panned: Pins, shirts and other souvenirs featuring Mischa the bear were a hit during and after the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. Sam the eagle was cartoonish but serviceable at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. And Hodori was a well-behaved, personable tiger at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.

But many Beijingers are sick and tired of Pan-Pan. Reuters reported that the Asian Games mascot’s “relentlessly cute grin” is plastered on everything that moves and doesn’t move.

Said one factory worker while visiting the new panda house at the Beijing Zoo: “I’ve had enough of these pandas.”

Trivia answer: Jim Finks, the New Orleans Saints’ president and general manager, threw 26 interceptions as Steeler quarterback in 1955.

Quotebook: Chicago White Sox pitcher Jack McDowell, discussing why people don’t know very much about him: “In fact, I don’t know a lot about me.”