From Coral Gables to Genoa, the Sporting World Is Abuzz

Golfers face a new hazard at the 394-yard, par-four third hole at the Biltmore Golf Course in Coral Gables, Fla.--honeybees.

Despite pleas from golfers that a swarm of bees about the size of a football be exterminated at the public course, superintendent Kelly Cragin said the hive will remain.

“I really don’t want to kill them,” Cragin said. “An abundance of wildlife on the golf course is kind of nice to have.”

The 140-acre course already has manatees, ospreys and foxes.

What, no elephants?

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More on bees: In an Italian League soccer game last Sunday at Genoa, a swarm of bees invaded the penalty area after a shot apparently disturbed a hive hidden in the goal.

The game, between Sampdoria and Pescra, was delayed an hour while masked firemen destroyed the hive.

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Trivia time: What is the oldest individual world record in track and field?

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Wilt’s place: Dave Miller passed on this unusual statistic about Wilt Chamberlain and two games he played with the Philadelphia 76ers in Pittsburgh, not an NBA city, in 1967.

On Jan. 19, in a game against Chicago, Chamberlain was 11 for 11 from the field and scored 27 points, along with 22 rebounds and seven assists.

He visited Pittsburgh again on Feb. 24 in a game against Baltimore and was 18 for 18 from the field and had 42 points, 30 rebounds and five assists.

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Billibuster: From Peter Vecsey of USA Today: “After Bill Walton’s 17-minute Hall of Fame induction speech Monday, NBA VP of public relations Brian McIntyre sat down with Grateful Red at a party that evening and informed him, ‘Your acceptance speech was longer than your career.’ ”

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Violence condoned: Don Cherry, the former NHL coach turned television analyst, didn’t see Dale Hunter’s recent attack on Pierre Turgeon as a heinous crime. (Hunter was suspended for the first 21 games next season.) Cherry claimed Turgeon angered Hunter “by hotdogging a little too much.”

Cherry also fired a shot at the Islanders’ Ray Ferraro for referring to Hunter as a jerk. “I wonder if that little mask-wearing shrimp would say it to Dale on the ice,” Cherry said.

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Bo on Bo: Bo Jackson on his comeback with an artificial hip: “In my life, I live on the edge 24 hours a day. I don’t fear anything or any human being. And I wouldn’t be doing things differently if I hadn’t been injured. I wasn’t ready to be confined to a recliner.”

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Move over, pal: Chicago’s new Comiskey Park has an area called “Pet check,” where dogs and cats can be boarded during a game.

Game-day housing has been reserved for a visiting St. Bernard named “Carlton Frisk.” Said the veteran catcher who inspired the name and who has feuded with White Sox management: “I could tell him a lot about what it’s like to be in the White Sox’s doghouse.”

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Trivia answer: Italy’s Pietro Mennea had a time of 19.72 seconds in the 200 meters on Sept. 12, 1979 in Mexico City.

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Quotebook: Senior PGA Tour player Bob Brue: “You know you’re on the senior tour when your back goes out more than you do.”