Head-Banging by Him Is for Wrong Reason

Florida pitcher Charlie Hough, at 45 the oldest player in the National League, believes Marlin rookie Trevor Hoffman is a menace to the team’s sanity.

Reason: Hoffman keeps sneaking his heavy-metal compact discs into the clubhouse stereo system.

Hough told Dan Le Batard of the Miami Herald: “These guys have no clue. They are like my kids, saying, ‘Metallica rules.’ How about some Chuck Berry or Fats Domino or Danny and the Juniors?”

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Trivia time: The Stanley Cup has been handed out every year but one since 1918. When was it not awarded and why?

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This Troy’s life: According to Jim Reeves of the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, the Six Flags amusement park in Arlington, Tex., recently kept three of its most popular attractions--the Texas Giant, the Log Flume and the Shock Wave--open an hour after closing time so Dallas Cowboy quarterback Troy Aikman and some of his friends could ride them without being pestered by autograph hounds. One of Aikman’s companions, Reeves reports, was country singer Lorrie Morgan, who had performed at the park earlier.

“Six Flags employees, kept at their posts for a little overtime action, were freaking out watching the two stars enjoy themselves in an otherwise empty park,” Reeves wrote.

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Add Aikman: Aikman is scheduled to appear on the cover of GQ magazine in September, but expect to see only the top half of the Super Bowl’s most valuable player. A sore back prevented him from putting on pants for the photo shoot.

They know the lines: Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim and former Nevada Las Vegas coach Jerry Tarkanian will have roles as college basketball recruiters in the film “Blue Chips,” reports Ailene Voisin of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Also appearing will be former California Coach Lou Campanelli and Marty Blake, NBA scouting director.

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Gory days: Jose Canseco’s arm injury, which resulted from his pitching stint in Boston, had Frank Luksa of the Dallas Morning News thinking about another strange mishap involving a Texas Ranger player--the time outfielder Oddibe McDowell disabled himself by slicing his finger with a butter knife at a team luncheon.

Noting that the Rangers waited five days before disclosing Canseco’s injury, Luksa wrote: “There was no way to cover up the McDowell incident since he bled all over the salad.”

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Trivia answer: The 1919 Stanley Cup finals, between Montreal and Seattle of the Pacific Coast Hockey League, was called off after five games because of a flu epidemic.

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Quotebook: ESPN announcer Mike Patrick, on being assigned to the College World Series: “The best thing about the College World Series is Dick Vitale is not here.”