This Place Isn’t Like the Forum, And That’s a Part of Its Appeal

Naming an NHL team the Mighty Ducks might not fly with hockey purists, but Anaheim Arena is already being hailed as a league jewel.

Writes Frank Brown of the New York Daily News:

“The beauty of the Anaheim Arena, to be known as the Pond on game nights, is enough to leave you slack-jawed. A coral and teal exterior. Marble everywhere. Brass fixtures. Marvelous sight lines. Two decks of luxury boxes. It is a site with a future, a site of the future. . . .

“Then there is the (L.A.) Forum, a sign of things that should go. The place virtually has nothing to recommend itself other than a rather decent sheet of ice.”

And this from Terry Egan of the Dallas Morning News:

“While there may be debate about the (Duck) logo, there can be none about the arena the City of Anaheim built for the team. It is exquisite. From the outside, it looks like an upscale department store. Inside, there is carpeting and marble, comfortable seats with leg room, excellent sight lines and two levels of luxury boxes. . . .

“One look at the building and you know exactly why Bruce McNall, the King owner, wants a new arena for his team.”

Trivia time: From what state were the most players selected in baseball’s amateur draft this year?

Just don’t do it again: The United States’ 2-0 victory over England in a U.S. Cup ’93 soccer match last week had London newspapers calling for English Coach Graham Taylor’s dismissal--or worse.

But England’s 1-1 draw with Brazil on Sunday gave the papers a different perspective.

“(English goal scorer) David Platt removed the noose from Graham Taylor’s neck,” the Daily Mirror said.

Declared the Sun: “Graham Taylor’s death march was transformed into a happy samba.”

Add soccer: According to Michael Madden of the Boston Globe, a fair reading on the sport’s presence in the United States came when U.S. reporters sat dumbfounded as French star Michel Platini lit the Olympic flame at the Winter Games in Albertville, France, last year.

Wrote Madden: “We American journalists were sitting in a group, just behind Vice President Quayle, and we all had those empty Quayle looks on our faces as the French went crazy at the sight.”

Battered batterymate: National League umpire Bruce Froemming told Sport magazine that the most overpowering pitcher he ever saw was J.R. Richard of the Houston Astros.

“J.R. Richard was the man,” Froemming said. “He about killed his catcher, Cliff Johnson. Balls would be bouncing all over the place when he first started out.”

Good fishing, but . . . Don Wilson of the Orlando Sentinel recalls that, as part of their failed attempt to sign Bo Jackson in 1986, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers called on a secret weapon--linebacker Scott Brantley’s knowledge of Tampa-area fishing spots.

“Bo told them, ‘If I’m coming to Florida, I want to fish,’ ” Brantley told Wilson. “We fished for two days, and he loved it. Trouble was, he didn’t sign here.”

Trivia answer: California, with 354 players. Florida (204 players) was next, and Texas (64) was third. The California total represents 21% of the 1,170 players drafted.

Quotebook: Writer Peter Dobereiner, on Arnold Palmer: “I never figured out what women saw in him, but I’d like a case of it.”