Dodgers Given Praise That Is <i> Very </i> Qualified

Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that the Dodgers are being written off as West Division contenders, but he expects them to “charge right back into contention, because they always do.”

“Now, we’re not picking the Dodgers this season, but only because we’d have to live with it all year.

“It’s something you just don’t do in Northern California, just as you don’t do lunch, take a meeting, have a power breakfast or dress that doggie in a lovely pink shawl.

“Around my neighborhood, picking the Dodgers constitutes a distinct brand of local felony--and some of these guys own chain saws.”

Trivia time: Which state has produced the most NCAA basketball champions?

Rubbing it in: After Duke had beaten Purdue in the NCAA Southeast Regional final, a Blue Devil fan held up sign that read:

“Hi to everyone back home--Mom, Dad . . . North Carolina.”

Recognition: Duke center Cherokee Parks said that his mother once gave him a chance to change his name to something more conventional.

Parks declined and says now, “I like my name. Nobody has to say, ‘Cherokee who?’ ”

Party time: What can law enforcement officials expect when the World Cup soccer matches are played in nine U.S. cities this summer?

“South Americans will rumba in the streets,” Matthew Fordhal of the Associated Press writes. “Some Dutch men will down gallons of beer and don women’s dresses. And a few Spanish fans might try to pack rockets with their musical instruments.”

Chi Chi’s world: Some wisdom from senior golfer Chi Chi Rodriguez:

On wind in Scotland: “The winds were blowing 50 m.p.h. and gusting to 70. I hit a par-three with my hat.”

On aging: “The older you are, the longer you used to be.”

On accent problems when coming from Puerto Rico: “I told the caddie I wanted a sand wedge and he brought me a ham on rye.”

Cold: Steve Hummer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution suggests the name for Tonya Harding’s new book: “The Skates of Wrath.”

Portrait: Frank Luksa in the Dallas Morning News on Dallas Cowboy owner Jerry Jones:

“He has an insatiable need for flattery. He thrives on being stroked as a figure of immense respect among NFL power brokers. As a man who knows princes and presidents.

“He is, in short and at heart, insecure and unstable. Thus his intense craving to be reassured by constant spotlight. And his rash fit against (Jimmy) Johnson when he felt crossed.”

Oh, oh: After USC beat Barry Switzer’s Oklahoma team in Norman in 1982, 12-0, a press box wag said, “Now I know what the O in Oklahoma stands for.”

Trivia answer: California, 14. UCLA won 10 national championships, San Francisco two, and Stanford and Cal one each.

Quotebook: Andy Van Slyke, on the Pittsburgh Pirates’ season: “If it’s anything like last year, I’ll be looking forward to the strike.”