This Is One Hit That Only Piazza Can Appreciate

The hits keep on coming for unanimous National League rookie of the year Mike Piazza of the Dodgers, who told Movieline magazine why he likes the music from the unanimous film flop, “The Last Action Hero.”

Said Piazza: “For me, it’s good music to take batting practice to. I thought the movie was terrible, but the soundtrack’s cool.”

Trivia time: The Liberty Bowl, which last week offered a berth in this year’s game to Louisville, has been played in Memphis, Tenn., since 1965. Where was the game played before ‘65?

Allergic to parquet: In his new autobiography, Shaquille O’Neal addresses the notion that he wanted to play for the Lakers.

“Did I want to play for the Los Angeles Lakers? Man, what do you think? Of course, I did,” the Orlando Magic center says. “The Lakers were the Lakers. They had tradition, but they weren’t old and musty like the Boston Celtics.”

Blue Jay way: David Letterman’s “Top 10 reasons Canada keeps beating us in the World Series”:

10. French baseball chatter very disorienting.

9. U.S. players get sleepy standing through two national anthems.

8. Special enzyme in Canadian bacon that turns players into game-winning zombies.

7. American teams discouraged by Clinton’s new RBI tax.

6. All our secret plays are being funneled to them by that weasel Paul Shaffer.

5. Exchange rate makes Canadian runs worth more.

4. Stirring pregame talks, which always end with “win one for Lorne Greene.”

3. They don’t bother to use actual Canadians.

2. Let’s face it--we’re a bunch of hosers.

1. Those damn Mountie umpires.

Odd fellas: Ian O’Connor of the New York Daily News writes that the tutoring of Philadelphia 76er rookie Shawn Bradley by Jeff Ruland, former NBA enforcer and current 76er assistant coach, “is not unlike John Gotti helping Opie Taylor with his homework.”

Add Bradley: According to O’Connor, the 7-foot-6, 245-pound Bradley blew a kiss to a fan who had been heckling him during an exhibition in Albany, N.Y.

“I was just having fun,” Bradley told O’Connor. “But did you notice he didn’t say anything the rest of the night?”

Hold those lifeboats: From Lee Shappell of the Arizona Republic: “Undoubtedly the most refreshing words a player in the Los Angeles Clipper organization can hope to hear are ‘Man overboard!’--and then pray that it is he who is the subject of the alert.”

He will fight for your rights: A recent issue of Ring magazine, the so-called “bible of boxing,” carried an advertisement offering “legal consultations for boxers.” The lawyer’s name: Steven F. Pugilese.

Trivia answer: The Liberty Bowl was first played in Philadelphia’s Municipal Stadium in 1959 and remained there until 1963. In 1964, the game was played in the Atlantic City Convention Center.

Quotebook: Emmitt Smith, Dallas Cowboy running back, on how moving today’s Cowboy-Eagle kickoff in Philadelphia to 4 p.m. local time from 1 p.m. could affect the Eagle fans: “Maybe they’ll get so drunk they won’t even make it into the stadium.”