Followers of Couples Not Out of Woods Yet

Fred Couples has won three tournaments this year, including the Masters. He already has earned more than $1 million in official earnings.

But the real winners are the manufacturers of his clubs. Less than two weeks after Couples won the Masters, the manufacturer of the three-wood he used at Augusta National reported a backlog of 3,000 orders.

The manufacturer of his irons said it hoped to catch up to demand by mid-June.

Trivia time: When was the last time the Rams selected a quarterback in the first round of the NFL draft?

No ones: Unless UCLA quarterback Tommy Maddox is a first-round choice in Sunday’s NFL draft--and there is some doubt--it’s probable that, for only the second time since 1977, neither UCLA nor USC will have a first-round draft choice.

The only other time was 1987, when defensive back Tim McDonald was the first USC player chosen, on the second round by the then-St. Louis Cardinals; and tight end Derek Tennell was the first UCLA player selected, on the seventh round by the Seattle Seahawks.

Light up?A sharp-eyed 7-year-old girl saved the Pittsburgh Pirates’ management from further embarrassment by carefully reading the small letters on a cigarette billboard atop Three Rivers Stadium.

All smoking advertisements in the United States must carry the warning that smoking is harmful to health. However, the sign at the stadium read: “Surgeon General’s Warning: Quitting Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease and Emphysema.”

A Pirate official quickly ordered the lettering to be corrected.

Ordinary guy: New York Yankee outfielder Danny Tartabull’s $10-million home in Rancho Santa Fe has a few extras.

It includes a two-story movie theater and water slide from the bedroom window to the swimming pool. A train takes the family to the back-yard attractions, such as the game room, the tiki bar, the pool, the batting cage, the wine cellar and putting green.

“I’m a homebody,” Tartabull said. “Now I don’t have to go anywhere.”

Teddy Bears?Keith Gilbertson, California’s new football coach, is determined to change the team’s image next season.

“I don’t want to be known as the bad-mouth Bears,” Gilbertson told the San Francisco Chronicle. “Cal led the league in defensive offsides and that’s ridiculous. Cal led the league in taunting, late hits and personal fouls and those kind of things. We don’t need those.”

Hit-and-run sign: Toronto Blue Jay pitcher Jimmy Key made a rare plate appearance in spring training. He lined a ball into right field for what appeared to be a single, but he was thrown out at first base.

“They told me to hit,” Key said. “Nobody said anything about running.”

Trivia answer: In 1964, the Rams selected Bill Munson of Utah State.

Quotebook: New Jersey Net Coach Bill Fitch, commenting on a turbulent season, that included bickering with some of his players: “There’s a lot of yesterdays I’ve tried to forget.”