Next to Muscle Beach, It Ought to Be the Biggest Gym on Sand

To Arnold Schwarzenegger, it was barbaric that U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia were using buckets of sand as weight training equipment. Being a man of action, he terminated the practice, ordering a total recall on all buckets of sand.

Reuters reported Tuesday that the bodybuilder-turned-movie star, who also is chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, led a campaign that persuaded sporting goods manufacturers to donate more than 100,000 pounds of free weights, bench boards, leg presses, cycle machines and treadmills.

Trivia time: Which major league player had exactly 3,000 hits?

Five-minute drill: Jim Shofner, the new Cleveland Browns’ coach, is 0-0, and he will keep that record intact this weekend. The Browns have a bye.

His first practice Wednesday lasted under two hours. He will hold another workout today, then give the team four days off.

Shofner’s short-practice philosophy extends to meeting time as well. He told Chuck Melvin of the Associated Press: “The whole emphasis is that we get in here, do our business and get out. Hopefully, our attention span will be better. For me, you can only sit and pay attention about five minutes.”

The Browns’ fans would agree.

Demographics expert: Philippe Chatrier, president of the International Tennis Federation and the French Tennis Federation, told Salvatore Zanca of AP that he is still concerned about the controversy ignited by Andre Agassi, who appeared in last year’s French Open wearing neon-colored shirts and denim shorts.

Said Chatrier: “It’s not especially the clothes. What bothers me most about Agassi is the long hair and the bleaching (of his hair) and the fact he doesn’t shave and the earring. It’s his general look.”

Chatrier added: “I’ve received many complaint letters from people more than 50 years old who disagreed with Agassi’s outfits. But the ones less than 30 seem to love his outfits.”

Faster than Franco: If it were up to Raghib (Rocket) Ismail, the Notre Dame running back and kick returner extraordinaire, he’d skip the draft and go directly to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Ismail, who moved to Wilkes-Barre, Pa., when he was 10, told the Pittsburgh Press: “When I played sandlot, whatever position I was playing, I was (a Steeler). If I was a linebacker, I was (Jack) Lambert or (Jack) Ham. If I was a receiver, I was (Lynn) Swann or (John) Stallworth. If I was playing quarterback, I was Terry Bradshaw. And if I was a defensive back, I would be Mel Blount.”

Pass it on: Wednesday, according to AP, the Cincinnati Post reported that Pete Rose has sold his home in Cincinnati and is selling a home in Plant City, Fla.

The newspaper also reported that Charlotte Jacobs, a family friend, said Rose’s wife, Carol, visited him twice a month at the federal prison in Marion, Ill.

Said Jacobs: “He’s doing good. He looks good. He is skinnier.”

Who goofed, indeed: The “correction” in Wednesday’s Morning Briefing that said Bob Goodrich, not Gail Goodrich, was captain of USC’s 1938-39 basketball team, was an error. Please do not mark a change in your 1990-91 USC Basketball Media Guide.

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Trivia answer: Roberto Clemente of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Quotebook: Former Oklahoma quarterback Charles Thompson, serving a two-year sentence for drug dealing, when testifying recently that he lectured children about the evils of cocaine while selling the drug: “I never said I didn’t do drugs. I said they should say no to drugs.”