We Know It and You Know It and at Long Last, She Knows It

With help from her Federation Cup teammates, Jennifer Capriati says she has won her battle to rid the words “you know” from her vocabulary.

The 15-year-old Floridian is famous for her frequent use of that phrase. Writers often compete during news conferences to count how many “you knows” Capriati can utter in a minute. But Capriati said that is a thing of the past.

“I saw myself on TV and I definitely realized how many times I said it,” Capriati said. “I told my teammates to hit me every time I said it.”

Gigi Fernandez, Mary Joe Fernandez and Zina Garrison obliged, poking or glaring at Capriati each time she used the phrase during the early days of last week’s Federation Cup in Nottingham, England.

You know, she may have something there.

Change of pace: After accommodating a record British crowd of 25,000 for a track and field meet at the World University Games, Sheffield’s Don Valley stadium will try something less spectacular.

Games organizer Ray Gridley announced that the stadium will swap the roars of a track meet for the applause of a cricket match.

Trivia time: What four things did this year’s baseball All-Star game have in common with the first one played in 1933?

Peanut butter man: Fellow golfers call Al Geiberger “Skippy” instead of “Mr. 59.” The senior pro tells why:

“When I was on the regular tour, my wife used to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for our daughter. I had low blood sugar, so one day I asked her to make me one before I went out to play, and it turned out to be a perfect snack during the round.

“Soon after that I won the American Golf Classic and the press got on to my carrying peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The next thing you know I had a contract with Skippy peanut butter company.”

The wrong use: Gaylord Perry’s recent induction into baseball’s Hall of Fame reminded Bob Sudyk of the Hartford Courier of the time Perry sought an endorsement from Vaseline. The offer was rejected by an executive who was aware of Perry’s reputation for doctoring baseballs with the petroleum jelly.

“We soothe babies’ (bottoms), not baseballs,” he told Perry.

Comfort zone: Flip Wilson recently played 18 holes at Pebble Beach and found himself in a better golfing frame of mind than usual.

“Somehow, I don’t mind being such a bad golfer when I’m at Pebble Beach,” he said. “Because when I send a ball flying into a sand trap there, at least I know it’s going first class.”

Firing line: San Francisco Giant announcer Ron Fairly, after listening for three innings to a trumpeter in the crowd playing selections such as “The Happy Wanderer” and “Happy Birthday” in Montreal’s Olympic Stadium, asked, “Where is the National Rifle Assn. when you really need them?”

Trivia answer: The score of both was 4-2, each was decided by a home run with a runner on base--the first by Babe Ruth, the other by Cal Ripken Jr. the American League won both games and both were played in American League parks.

Looking back: Fifteen years ago today, Bruce Jenner set the world record in the Olympic decathlon with 8,618 points, breaking Nikolai Avilov’s mark set in 1972 by 164 points.

Quotebook: Former land-speed record-holder Art Arfons, after it was suggested that he was too old at 65 to make another record attempt at Bonneville: “Too old is when you’re not here anymore.”