In Truth, Indians Were Named After a Spider

Even though the 35-foot high Chief Wahoo landmark has been removed from atop Cleveland Stadium, the Cleveland baseball team will retain its name, Indians, and logo despite protests from some Native American groups.

The team’s media guide says the name honors Louis Sockalexis, the first Native American to play major league baseball. The Penobscot Indian played for the Cleveland team, then called the Spiders, for 94 games from 1897 to 1899. Sockalexis died in 1913 at 42.

The team nickname became Indians in 1915, the result of a newspaper’s contest to give the team a new name. A contest participant suggested the name would honor Sockalexis.

Add Chief Wahoo: Rozelle Griffie, who is part Cherokee, videotaped the razing of Chief Wahoo and said he would miss the landmark.

“That’s like taking away a piece of your heart,” he said. “It isn’t insulting to Indians. It’s no reflection on nobody; it’s part of Cleveland.”

Trivia time: Who was the first basketball player in NCAA history to accumulate 2,000 points, 1,500 rebounds and 300 blocked shots?

Limited competition: Iranian women may compete overseas in only five sports--chess, shooting, equestrian, skiing and shooting for the handicapped--because in other sports they would violate Islamic dress codes.

Male spectators at last year’s International Muslim Women’s Solidarity Games in Tehran were banned from events at which competitors could not be fully covered.

Brotherly love: Ed O’Bannon, a junior, and Charles O’Bannon, a freshman, form a powerful nucleus for the undefeated UCLA basketball team. Ed’s comments on the sibling rivalry:

“It’s a matter of big brother trying to keep up with little brother. Charles has always been that way. I don’t doubt he’ll outscore me this season. He has always jumped higher than me. Charles is a great player, and great players adjust.”

Looking ahead: Dallas city officials are thinking Super Bowl already. They have developed a proposal for a Cowboy victory celebration, should the team repeat as champion, in hopes that early planning will prevent the violence that plagued last year’s parade. The plan scraps the parade and instead offers to honor the team with a pep rally at the Cotton Bowl.

What does Jimmy Johnson think about this?

The name game: How about this for the title of a sponsor’s golf tournament: Ivoclar North American Open Wide.”

It is for dentists and associates, conducted by one of the nation’s largest dental-supply companies.

Still the man: From the fan mail he continues to receive, you wouldn’t know Michael Jordan had retired. According to the Sporting News, the former Chicago Bull star gets nearly 5,000 pieces of mail a week--enough to fill eight 15-pound boxes.

Trivia answer: Derrick Coleman of Syracuse.

Quotebook: Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden, on postseason football: “You’ve got to pay the players some money. Everybody makes money off the playoffs and everybody makes money off bowls, except the players.”