Sometime, You Should Just Leaf It Alone

Alan Greenberg of the Hartford Courant writes an open letter to Canada:

“Look, we’re really, really, really sorry about carrying your flag upside down at the World Series. You’ve never been in it before, so how were we to know?

“If you’ll simmer down for a second, may we suggest some logical explanations for our embarrassing error? Maybe our Marine Corps Color Guard thought your maple leaf was a fig leaf.

“Maybe they used common sense and, in keeping with the season, figured the leaf should point down, as if falling from a tree.”

Greenberg apologized in his column this morning.

Trivia time: Ed Sprague of the Toronto Blue Jays became the 23rd player to hit a home run in his first World Series at-bat. Which Dodger accomplished the feat?

Safe offer: The New York Road Runners Club will award a $1-million bonus for a sub-2 hour marathon at the New York Marathon on Nov 1.

The marathon world record is 2 hours 6 minutes 50 seconds, set by Belayneh Densimo of Ethiopa in 1988. The course in New York is not considered particularly fast.

Apprised of New York’s offer, track promoter Al Franken said: “Along the same lines, I could offer $1 million to anyone running a 3:40 mile at the Sunkist indoor meet.”

Reasonable bias: Dick Williams is one American who is pulling for the Canadian team in the World Series.

Williams began his managing career with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League in 1965 and later managed the Montreal Expos for five years.

Williams told the Toronto Star that he would have liked to have seen an all-Canadian World Series, matching Toronto and Montreal.

Barbs away: Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that battle lines are drawn for the World Series with Toronto sportswriters trashing Atlanta.

“One Toronto sportswriter described Atlanta as a ‘mosquito-plagued Southern backwater full of white trash yahoos,’ ” Ostler writes. “Another columnist referred to Atlanta as ‘Mayberry-on-Steroids.’ ”

Husky type: Washington Coach Don James, describing the run-and-shoot offense of the unbeaten Huskies’ next opponent, said:

“It’s like looking at the Houston Oilers with Warren Moon.”

The juggernaut he was referring to is the University of Pacific.

“But truth be known; the Tigers, a Big West Conference pussycat with a 2-5 record, don’t even belong on Washington’s schedule,” writes Gary Nelson of the Everett (Wash.) Herald.

Un-happy day: John Brodie, a former all-pro quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, is the defending champion of the Ralphs Senior Classic that begins Friday at Rancho Park Golf Course.

So Albie Pearson, an original Angel player, and Happy Hairston, a former Laker, probably figured if a former football player can win a golf tournament, they should give it a try.

It didn’t work out as Pearson shot a 75 and Hairston a 76 while failing to qualify for the tournament.

Trivia answer: Mickey Hatcher in 1988 against the Oakland Athletics.

Quotebook: Hakeem Olajuwon, on his strained relationship with management of the Houston Rockets: “In my country, we have a saying: ‘It’s best to be silent when dealing with fools.’ ”