Morse Code: Call the Penalty, No Matter What It Costs You

It was only a technical violation, and most golfers wouldn’t have reported it--especially against themselves. And especially when it would cost them a berth in the playoff for a PGA title.

But after American John Morse accidentally knocked down some twigs and leaves on the backswing of his second shot on the 18th hole at the Australian PGA Championship in Sydney, he penalized himself two strokes. He finished at one-over 71, two strokes short of a four-way playoff for the title, won by Ian Baker-Finch.

Morse’s mistake was to stop his swing in mid-shot. If he had continued and hit the ball, there would have been no penalty. Still, tournament chairman Graeme Nightingale said it was unlikely anyone noticed Morse’s mistake.

“It’s fantastic that he had the guts to do it,” Baker-Finch said of Morse’s decision.

Said Morse: “It’s just bad luck.”

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Trivia time: Who was the only player to be on championship teams in the NCAA, American Basketball Assn. and the NBA?

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Time is running out: Jim Henneman of the Baltimore Sun is calling for the election of Orlando Cepeda to the Hall of Fame before it is too late. His case:

“Cepeda is the best all-around hitter (power, average, run production) of those eligible who does not have a plaque in the Hall of Fame. This will be the 14th year on the ballot for Cepeda, who retired in 1974.

“If the Baseball Writers Assn. of America, the guardian group of the election, doesn’t vote him in this year, Cepeda will have only one more chance. A player remains on the ballot for 15 years before his name is turned over to the Veterans Committee after a three-year waiting period. Cepeda shouldn’t have to wait that long.

“Over a span of 17 seasons, Cepeda batted .297, hit 379 homers and drove in 1,365 runs. Among those with 7,500 at-bats--the equivalent of 15 full years--his batting average is eighth-best of all those eligible but not in the Hall of Fame--ninth counting Pete Rose. He is fourth among eligibles in home runs and fifth in RBI.”

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Brutal, Juice: O.J. Simpson needs to move up in the TV world, according to Phil Jackman of the Baltimore Sun:

“It’s quite obvious Simpson’s reportorial skills are being wasted on NBC’s Sunday pregame pot-boiler ‘NFL Live.’ The Juice reminds many of a combination of Mike Wallace, Wolf Blitzer and Peter Arnett, and here they’ve got him running around kissing up to quarterbacks hither and yon.”

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The names stuck: Some NBA players and how they got their nicknames, according to the Sporting News:

Anthony (Spud) Webb: A shortened version of Sputnik, a name given to him as a child.

Theodore (Blue) Edwards: Dubbed by an older sister who found him choking on a baby bottle.

John (Hot Rod) Williams: So named when he was young for his habit of scooting backward across the floor while making engine-like sounds.

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Trivia answer: Tom Thacker (University of Cincinnati, 1961-62, the Boston Celtics, ‘67-68, and Indiana Pacers, ‘69-70).

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Quotebook: Shawn Kemp of the 8-0 Seattle SuperSonics: “If Michael Jordan was on this team, even he’d have to share the ball.”