There May Be a Few Bumps He Can’t See

Robby Gordon, whose off-road racing exploits in the rough-riding Mickey Thompson stadium races helped earn him a ride in A.J. Foyt’s No. 14 car for next year’s Indy car season, was getting his first trip around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway when public relations man Bob Walters asked him what he thought about the track.

“I’d like it a lot more if they put some jumps in right about here,” the 23-year-old from Orange replied as they rode down the long front straightaway.

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Parity: In the last 11 NHL games between the Quebec Nordiques and the Buffalo Sabres, all have gone into overtime, and all have ended in a tie.

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Trivia time: In 1931, USC ended a 26-game Notre Dame winning streak, 16-14, to win its first national championship. Who kicked the winning field goal?

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The way it was: Dallas Coach Richie Adubato, after the Mavericks lost to the Clippers, had this to say: “Defense has to come from your heart and we didn’t show any. We were soft as tissue paper.”

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Pull the plug: Fly, the unknown author of a gossip-type column in the Sporting News, says the autopsy results are in on SportsChannel Los Angeles. “Cause of death: Too many Angels, (cough, cough) and Dodgers (hack, hack) games.”

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Home not a haven: Harbor College football Coach Don Weems told Brian Patterson of the News-Pilot that some of the Seahawks (7-3) were worried about playing Orange Coast College (7-3) in the Western State/K-Swiss Bowl on their home field in Wilmington Dec. 5. Their only three losses were at home.

“The players asked if there was any chance we could play the game somewhere else,” Weems said. “I told them that I’d put them on the bus, drive them around for a while, then bring them back to Harbor so it’s just like a road game.”

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Forgettable comments: When Babe Ruth quit pitching to become an outfielder in the spring of 1921, Tris Speaker didn’t think too highly of the idea.

“Ruth made a grave mistake when he gave up pitching,” Speaker is quoted in “The Book of Sports Quotes.” “Working once a week, he might have lasted a long time and become a great star.”

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Christmas gift: Looking for something for someone who has everything?

Try the Global Golf Challenge, from Fischer Travel Enterprises of New York--25 days of golf with stops at Turnberry Isle in Florida, the Phoenician in Scottsdale, Ariz.; Mauna Lani on Hawaii’s Kohala Coast, Gleneagles resort in Scotland and the Regents course in Sydney, Australia.

The cost? If you have to ask, maybe you shouldn’t go. It’s $125,000, but you get limo service for sightseeing and shopping at each stop.

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Sound familiar: Sir Donald Bradman, the top batsman in the history of cricket, has always shunned the spotlight, even after he made a record 334 runs for Australia against England during the 1930 Ashes series.

Bradman, 84, made a rare public appearance last week. Asked what his aims for the future were, Bradman said: “My principle aim is to get out of the clutches of the press.”

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Trivia answer: Johnny Baker.

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Quotebook: The late Walter O’Malley, after turning down a luncheon invitation where he would meet some millionaires: “If I want to meet millionaires, I don’t have to look anywhere. I just have to look up my own players.”