In His Case, There Is More Than Smoke

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Scott Ostler, on Barry Bonds’ casual home run trot: “If he used it on the streets, he would get arrested for loitering . . . I’ve seen guys enjoy a good cigar faster than Bonds enjoys a home run.”

Said Bonds: “You only hit so many, you might as well enjoy them.”

*

Trivia time: Who holds the Pacific 10 Conference record for touchdown passes in a career?

*

Looking back: Notre Dame was undefeated in football in 1930, but another “Notre Dame” team lost to the NFL New York Giants, 22-0, the same season.

During that depression year, the “Notre Dame All-Stars,” coached by Knute Rockne and featuring the Four Horseman, played the Giants at the Polo Grounds before 55,000. The game benefited the unemployed in New York City.

*

Quick exit: USA Cable announcer Al Albert, after Benny Baez was knocked out in 37 seconds by International Boxing Federation junior-welterweight champion Pernell Whitaker: “Joan Baez would have lasted longer than that.”

*

Bearing up: After winning the Bear Bryant award as the college football coach of the year, Alabama’s Gene Stallings, who played for Bryant at Texas A&M;, acknowledged Bryant’s impact. “The players live in Bryant Hall,” Stallings said. “Right in front of my office is Bryant Boulevard, then on to the Paul Bryant Conference Center, right beside Paul Bryant Museum, right down by Paul Bryant Stadium.

“That’s the way it’s going to be for a long time. It doesn’t bother me one bit.”

*

First free agent: It was 100 years ago that Yale’s William (Pudge) Heffelfinger became the first professional football player by accepting $500 to play for the Allegheny Athletic Assn.

*

Frequent fliers: The San Francisco 49ers have the distinction of being the most traveled NFL team ever. With a preseason trip to London included, the 49ers have traveled more than 40,000 miles this year.

*

Rifleman & Co.: In 1946, the Rochester Royals of the National Basketball League--which later merged into the NBA--was a championship team featuring three players, who would become more renowned in other sports and professions.

Otto Graham became a quarterback for the Cleveland Browns; Del Rice a catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, and Chuck Connors played briefly for the Brooklyn Dodgers before becoming a television and motion picture actor.

*

Shark story: Greg Norman was asked by Larry Dorman of Golf Digest how he got his nickname, “Great White Shark.”

Norman said that during an interview at the 1981 Masters tournament he mentioned that he fished for sharks in Australia.

“Next morning in the Augusta Chronicle is this headline, ‘Great White Shark Nears Masters Lead,’ ” Norman said. “I don’t know who wrote it. (But) I want to thank him, whoever he is. I’d thank him because the guy made a hell of a lot of money for me.”

*

Trivia answer: Stanford’s John Elway with 77 (1979-82).

*

Quotebook: From Philadelphia 76er Coach Doug Moe, when asked how his team broke a recent seven-game losing streak with a 115-104 victory over Seattle: “I think it was the lunar eclipse.”