Big Lefty Promises to Give New Meaning to ‘Air’ Jordan

Randy Johnson, Seattle’s 6-foot-10 left-handed pitcher, isn’t all that impressed with Michael Jordan’s venture into major league baseball.

“I’d like to see how much air time he’d get on one of my (inside) pitches,” Johnson says. “He has a press conference every day and all he’s doing is hitting 80-m.p.h. fastballs. Big deal.”

Add Johnson: He also says he is going to ask the Seattle SuperSonics for an NBA tryout because he “could probably block a 235-pounder out of the middle better than Jordan can hit a baseball.”

Trivia time: In what league are the sports franchises known as Bullfrogs, Barracudas, Phantoms and Vipers?

One man’s view: From Dave Kindred of the Sporting News:

“Johann Olav Koss is a Norwegian speedskating hero who set a world record in the 10,000 meters that may stand for half a century. . . . In his moment of victory, Koss announced what he would do with the $30,000 awarded him by Norway’s Olympic Committee. He would send it to Sarajevo, where money is needed desperately.

“Perhaps other athletes made private donations. Of Americans, only Bonnie Blair announced hers. She would give $5,000. Two seats away at a press conference, the new American millionaire Nancy Kerrigan did a recital of her soup contracts, shoe deals and sunglasses agreements before ending the spiel with a giggle. ‘So many,’ she says. She offered the Sarajevans nothing.”

Changing times: The Edmonton Oilers, who set an NHL record with 36 shorthanded goals in 1983-84, are the only team without one this season.

Hope springs eternal: He is 64 and hasn’t won anything except a couple of Senior Skins since 1988, but Arnold Palmer has a feeling that he will win again on the Senior PGA Tour, maybe this week in the GTE West tournament at Ojai Valley.

Palmer underwent a sinus operation a few days after Christmas, but a month later he shot a 69 at Pebble Beach. Three similar rounds would win on the 50-and-older circuit.

“I feel that my game has improved a great deal, especially my iron play,” Palmer says. “It’s given me a lift to want to play a little more, too. As a result, I think that my new mind-set and my better game will make me more competitive this year.”

Long season: If Florida’s Bob Kudelski plays in all remaining Panther games, he will set an NHL record for most games played in the regular season--87.

Kudelski played 42 games for the Ottawa Senators before the Jan. 6 trade that brought him to Florida. The Panthers had only played 39 games when Kudelski arrived, so he has the chance to play in the remaining 45, establishing an NHL high.

Clever commercial: A motor oil company, showcasing national top-fuel champion Eddie Hill in a magazine layout, came up with this:

“On the NHRA drag racing circuit, there are 117 straightaways . . . but only one Hill.”

Trivia answer: Teams in the Roller Hockey International League.

Quotebook: Volleyball star Bob Samuelson, on why the U.S. team went through an 18-38 season: “I don’t think, in the middle of a game, we should be worrying about getting a bulkhead seat on the flight home.”