Mutual Fans Are Able to Hit Right Chords

Writing in the July issue of Inside Sports magazine, singer Bruce Hornsby says he grew up wanting to be “an Ivy League jock, just like Bill Bradley.”

That wish never came true for Hornsby, but he did get the chance to shoot a few hoops with Bradley, longtime U.S. senator from New Jersey, three years ago.

Hornsby says he was in New York to play concert dates when he was contacted by the former Princeton and Knick star.

“He called me up and asked if I wanted to ride with him on his campaign run in New Jersey,” Hornsby wrote. “I had the day off, so I said sure.

“So we’re riding around in his car, and, all of a sudden, Bill asks the driver, ‘Hey, how are we doing time-wise for the next function?’ The driver says we’re fine, so Bill tells him to turn the car around and make a right, and we pull up right next to this playground.”

Bradley then organized “a little shooting game” with several surprised constituents and a thrilled Hornsby.

“There was one point,” he wrote, “where I suddenly just flashed on it: ‘Hell, I’m shooting with Dollar Bill.’ ”

Trivia time: What is the largest margin by which a major league expansion team has finished ahead of an established club in the standings?

Simply marvelous: Marvin Hagler’s induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame last Sunday prompted promoter Bob Arum to recall “the greatest eight minutes of boxing I’ve ever seen”--Hagler’s 1985 fight with Thomas Hearns.

“I was partly responsible for it because of the way I promoted the fight,” Arum told the Boston Globe’s Ron Borges. “I had (Hagler and Hearns) together for two solid weeks, going around the country. Marvin always talked himself into disliking an opponent, and by the end of that two weeks, he hated Tommy. And Tommy wasn’t the kind of guy to take a backward step, so he hated Marvin.

“I remember I was sitting next to Joan Rivers, and after the first round she turned to me aghast and said, ‘Is it always like this?’ ”

Back in time: Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News thinks the NBA should pay a little more attention to musical trends. Noting that Huey Lewis and the News sang the national anthem before Game 2 of the NBA finals, Harvey wrote: “Couldn’t they get someone who’s had a hit song in the ‘90s?”

And there’s a game, too: On June 30, Orestes (Minnie) Minoso is expected to bat for the St. Paul Saints of the Northern League, an act that will make him the first person to play professional baseball in six different decades.

The appearance by the 70-year-old Minoso is one of several promotions cooked up for the minor league team by its president, Mike Veeck, son of legendary major league owner-promoter Bill Veeck.

Also on tap for the Saints: a Bill Murray film festival--the comedian is a Saint co-owner--and festivities to honor the 42nd anniversary of 3-foot-7 Eddie Gaedel’s plate appearance for the St. Louis Browns in Bill Veeck’s most famous stunt.

Trivia answer: Ten games--the 1961 Angels over the Kansas City Athletics.

Quotebook: Tom Paciorek, Chicago White Sox broadcaster, on why he and partner Ken Harrelson are so openly partial to the White Sox: “See, we get a paycheck every two weeks, and it’s signed by the White Sox.”