GOING EXTRA MILE: Here’s a claim by...

GOING EXTRA MILE: Here’s a claim by Anaheim motorcycle cop Jim Saenz that someone may challenge: “I’m the biggest Garth Brooks fan in Orange County.” How big? Saenz and his police partner, Vince Ferraro, both veteran Brooks concert-goers, will drive 2,000 miles to see a Garth Brooks concert in Sioux City, Iowa, on March 25. . . . “If you haven’t seen his show before, it’s something you just can’t miss,” he says. Saenz adds that he’s never been this excited about any other performer: “I’ve videotaped all his TV appearances.”

A PET BILL: A bill that made it through committee in Sacramento this week would make it legal to own ferrets. California is one of just four states that ban the weasel-like critters, and state health and wildlife officials want to keep it that way. They say ferrets can bite small children, or can escape and threaten native wildlife. But one Anaheim woman who illegally owns ferrets disagrees: “They’re very tame, great pets.” And Orange County veterinarian Richard Evans argues that ferrets are less likely to bite children than are cats or dogs.

MISSING CHRIS: If Anaheim folks are happy that the Rams signed former Falcons quarterback Chris Miller, they’re less happy in Atlanta. Under a headline “Miller Time Over,” the Atlanta Constitution wrote this week that his departure “magnifies the unsettled quarterback situation still facing the Falcons.” . . . Adds Falcons Coach June Jones, who was close to Miller: “You wish maybe things had turned out differently.”

KEEPSAKE? Ever wish you’d held on to a case of Billy Beer? There’s a new collector’s item coming onto the market: Sports Specialties in Irvine--a Nike subsidiary--has acquired the rights to market a Michael Jordan Chicago White Sox baseball cap. It’s like the other White Sox caps except it says “Jordan 45” on the back--the new number of the former No. 23 of the Chicago Bulls. A company spokesman says the cap will honor Jordan’s “quest” to be a baseball player.