Sounds Like a Good Idea for Bad Shots

William Barnhill was tired of losing golf balls, so he has spent his spare time for the past five years perfecting what he says is the first audio golf ball.

Barnhill, 29, and his partners hope to mass-produce their Trakflite sonic golf ball, which has a modified core that holds a small battery, an electric circuit and a beeper.

When struck by a club, the ball emits a high-frequency sound that be heard up to 100 yards away. The sound can be silenced after the ball is found, Barnhill said.

Or, perhaps, if it lands in a water hazard.

Trivia time: Arizona’s basketball team has a 14-0 record in the Pacific 10. What is the conference record for victories without a loss?

Nit-picking: Charles Barkley says he isn’t jealous that rookie Shaquille O’Neal is taking publicity from him and other NBA veterans.

“The more attention he gets, the less I have to deal with the nitwits in the media,” Barkley said.

We’ve been called worse.

Hockey country? Jeff Jacobs of the Hartford Courant, commenting on Minnesota North Star owner Norm Green moving the franchise to Dallas:

“Many folks say Norm rode the mechanical bull too long. It may be the eighth-largest metro market in the United States, but Dallas ain’t hockey country, podner.”

Shock value: Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle on shopping for baseball gloves:

“Some gloves have new padding. Easton has an ‘Exclusive AirMaster System that distributes impact through three shock chambers.’ The Vincent Price model?”

Afterthought: New York Yankee owner George Steinbrenner on Yogi Berra: “I will try the best I can this year to reach out to Yogi. This is something that really bothers my family. Everyone loves Yogi.”

Steinbrenner fired Berra as the Yankees’ manager in 1985 after 16 games.

Show horse: Perrault, a racehorse who finished ahead of John Henry in the 1982 Santa Anita Handicap only to be disqualified to second for running erratically, has a daughter preparing for her first race at Santa Anita.

The off-spring is named Ross Perrault.

Waste of time: Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, writing on a technical foul assessed against a Georgetown player earlier in the season:

“Coach John Thompson said: ‘The game can’t be fun if you can’t talk a little bit of trash.’ Hey, John, ever see UCLA play in the 1970s? Did they talk trash? Think they had some fun?”

Super bore: Dan Barreiro of the Star Tribune of Minneapolis is fed up with one-sided games in the Super Bowl.

“The game with the Roman numerals is no longer necessary,” Barreiro writes. “The appetizers--the parties, the news conferences, the hype, the pregame shows--have become the main course. The game has become the post-meal belch.”

Trivia answer: UCLA had a 16-0 conference record in the 1955-56 season.

Quotebook: Ryan Thompson, New York Met center fielder, when asked what kind of player he is: “I’m a baseball player.”