Secret for Success in This Game Is Covering Bases Beforehand

Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press provides some tips when picking the company softball team:

“Anyone named Rocco is in. Same goes for Vito. You got spikes? You’re in.

“No Walkmen. Even in right field.

“Always take at least one person from the legal department. They’re hungry, aggressive, and, we assume, they know how to cheat.”

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Trivia time: How many years did former Dodger Maury Wills lead the National League in stolen bases and what was his highest total?

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Pregame meal: Jackie MacMullan of the Boston Globe asked Jerry Krause, general manager of the Chicago Bulls, why he didn’t pursue the Knicks’ John Starks when he was playing in the Continental Basketball Assn.

“We don’t like to bring in young (back-up) shooting guards,” Krause said. “Michael (Jordan) just eats these kids up in practice, destroys their confidence.”

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Same old place: Davey Johnson, the new manager of the Cincinnati Reds, returned to New York last Friday, three years after his firing by the Mets.

Johnson left his mid-town hotel early in the afternoon, expecting a 20-minute trip to Shea Stadium. Instead, the taxi ride took nearly an hour.

Said Johnson: “That’s when I knew for sure I was back in New York.”

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Ouch! A headline in the Philadelphia Daily News when Dallas Green became the manager of the New York Mets: “Dallas in Blunderland.”

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Strange matchup: Mike Ditka recalls the time he was guarding Jerry West. That’s right, Ditka, renowned as a football player at the University of Pittsburgh, also played a little basketball.

“I played about two minutes,” Ditka recalled of a game against West Virginia. “West scored six and I had three fouls.

“Every time Jerry sees me, he says he’s fortunate I didn’t play much that game. He says otherwise he wouldn’t have had a pro career.”

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FYI: Alberto Tomba, an Olympic gold medalist in skiing, is interested in a future career in auto racing. The 26-year-old Italian owns a Ferrari Testarossa and a Lancia Delta Integrale.

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Royalty slur: Seattle SuperSonic Coach George Karl has accused Phoenix Sun guard Kevin Johnson of whining and targeted the referees for “treating him like a queen.”

In response, Johnson told Peter Vecsey of USA Today: “Treated like a queen, huh? He could have at least used the word king or prince.”

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Trivia answer: Six, 1960-65, with a high of 104 in 1962.

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Quotebook: PGA Tour player Fred Funk on John Daly: “He is just ridiculous with his length. I couldn’t hit it where he hits it on a runway.”