They’re Eating Up the Yardage in Cincinnati

Mike Brown, general manager of the Cincinnati Bengals, said he is not concerned about reports that the team’s practice field is contaminated with lead and other items.

“It’s not a safety risk unless you are on the property,” he said, “and only then if you are down on the ground and eat a yard and a half of soil.”

Comment from Tom FitzGerald of the San Francisco Chronicle: “Well, the average Bengal lineman eats that much dirt before noon.”

Trivia time: Who was the last Dodger to win the National League batting championship?

Renaissance man: Lou Tepper, Illinois football coach, is urging linebacker Dana Howard to skip a photo session with other members of Playboy magazine’s All-American football team.

“I told Dana that if he boycotts that event, he’d still be an All-American and he’d have a lot more women respect him,” Tepper said. “Personally, I feel Playboy magazine is an affront to women. But my values differ from others.”

Wait a minute: The inaugural voting for the USC athletic Hall of Fame identified Jon Arnett and Frank Gifford as the first inductees in the pre-1960 football era.

Gifford was a full-time starter at tailback for only one season, 1951. His fame came later with the New York Giants. Overlooked were such famous Trojans as Morley Drury, Jess Hibbs, Ernie Smith, Cotton Warburton, Orv Mohler, Gus Shaver, Aaron Rosenburg, Harry Smith, and Grenny Lansdell, who were standouts for more than one season.

Growing up: Winners on the professional beach volleyball tour in 1966 were rewarded with a $10 pair of pants.

Now, it’s estimated that four players earn $1 million a year on the Miller/Lite tour.

Beta what? Talk about beta-blockers among pro golfers confused Lanny Wadkins. A group of players was discussing the drugs at the Masters, and Wadkins said: “I never heard of them before. . . . I thought it was some kind of sunglasses.”

Sky tip: As Hillary Rodham Clinton was throwing out the first ball to open the season at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, a plane flew over the park with a sign that read:

“Hillary, U Have the Right to Remain Silent.”

Prix historic: In the early days of the Long Beach Grand Prix, many residents weren’t quite sure what was going on.

Brian Redman recalls the first year, 1975, when an elderly woman watching practice asked him, “Are those real men in those cars?”

Redman took it in good spirit, responding, “Frankly, madam, I’m not sure.”

Pit stop: In the final year of his competitive racing career, Mario Andretti doesn’t hesitate to poke fun at himself.

“I probably should have retired a long time ago,” he said. “I should have gotten the clue when the press started asking me about it 15 years ago.”

Trivia answer: Tommy Davis, with an average of .326 in 1963.

Quotebook: Detroit Tiger Manager Sparky Anderson on releasing utility man Skeeter Barnes: “You just get caught in a position where you have no position.”