He May Not See Another One of These

Sam Horn of the Baltimore Orioles is 6 feet 5 and 247 pounds, so when he hit a triple last week and landed at third base like a dirigible, the writers had fun with him, especially Mike Littwin of the Baltimore Sun.

“In case you don’t grasp the significance of this epochal event--and I’m guessing you don’t--allow me to offer some perspective,” Littwin said. “Beethoven wrote nine symphonies. Horn has hit one triple.

“Nolan Ryan has pitched seven no-hitters. Horn has hit one triple.

“There have been three “Godfather” movies, two World Wars and one Sam Horn triple.”

It was Horn’s first triple in 879 big league at-bats. Now Horn can work on filling in a couple of other gaps in his baseball resume--stolen bases and bunt singles.

‘IV’: In last week’s PGA tour event in Houston, Davis Love III, Tommy Armour III and P.H. Horgan III all shot the same score, 69. It was three under par, naturally.

cf,fdc,12 Trivia time: What seven cities have teams in all four major pro sports?

Ace: From Sean O’Neill, a member of the 1988 U.S. Olympic table tennis team, on how tough it is to be good at his chosen sport: “We don’t just go down in the basement and bat the ball around until it goes behind the furnace.”

Plus a paddle to be named: Speaking of Ping-Pong balls, it’s nearly NBA lottery time, which means that Ping-Pong balls are probably going to enjoy a brief resurgence in popularity. Last year, Coach Allan Bristow of the Charlotte Hornets proposed using them as bartering chips for possible trades, but the NBA wouldn’t go for it.

Bristow has since changed his mind: “The more I thought of it, I wouldn’t want to be the guy who had to say he got traded for Ping-Pong balls.”

Just do it now: The Sporting News had this headline on a story about a Nike ad on “consistency,” featuring White Sox catcher Carlton Fisk, who hasn’t played this year because of injuries: “Just stop it.”

He can play zone: The Kansas City Chiefs used their 12th-round draft pick on Oklahoma State basketball player Corey Williams, a 6-2, 190-pound guard who hasn’t played football since the ninth grade in Macon, Ga.

What was Williams’ reaction when Chief Coach Marty Schottenheimer called?

“I was in shock,” he said. Actually, Williams was in bed. He had to be awakened from a nap to take the call.

Circle the buzzards: Early rumors that Kansas City Royal Manager Hal McRae is in trouble also have him being replaced by former Met Manager Davey Johnson.

cf,fdc,12 Trivia answer: Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia.

Quotebook: Hat designer Frank Olive, whose creations were evident at the Kentucky Derby: “I design hats for ladies with active lifestyles, who have a little romance in their hearts. And ladies who are looking for their second, third or fourth husband.”