Briton Hopes to Get Drop on Accusers

John Buckingham, a 57-year-old amateur golfer, has gone to court in Nottingham, England, seeking compensation from two fellow club members who accused him of cheating in a tournament in 1990.

Buckingham was accused of kicking his ball into a better position, twice dropping a new ball from his pocket when the original was lost in the trees and moving his ball after hitting into a bunker.

So, what’s wrong with that?

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Add golfer: A meeting of the Sherwood Forest Golf Club’s management committee determined that the charges were unfounded.

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Trivia time: What was significant about April 21, 1967, at Dodger Stadium?

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Keep it simple: Ray Miller, pitching coach of the Pittsburgh Pirates, instructs his pitchers to work fast.

“When a pitcher works fast, he has less time to think, which is a good thing,” Miller told Paul Meyer of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

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Making waves: Bill Doner, longtime sports promoter in Southern California, as well as Las Vegas and Seattle, was recently named the commissioner of the Unlimited Racing Commission, the sanctioning group for unlimited hydroplane racing.

The announcement of the new position for Doner, known for being about as bashful as an atom bomb, was greeted this way by Bart Wright, Tacoma News-Tribune sports columnist:

“Being in Doner’s presence, one gets the feeling of what the offspring might be of a romantic encounter between Dick Vitale and Joan Rivers.”

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Theme song: Norman Clarke of the Rocky Mountain News recalls opening day at Philadelphia’s Veteran Stadium in 1974, when the “streaking” fad was in full bloom.

Midway through a damp, cold game, a naked man dashed toward center field. The organist immediately launched into Peggy Lee’s “Is That All There Is?”

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A jet lag?: Sprinter Leroy Burrell will be making a fast getaway today at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays in Walnut.

After Burrell runs a leg for the Santa Monica Track Club’s 800-meter relay team, he will ride a helicopter to LAX, where he will fly to Houston.

What’s the hurry? Burrell has a final examination at the University of Houston.

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Carlton’s world: Sportscaster Tim McCarver, commenting on the eccentricities of his former teammate, pitcher Steve Carlton, to Murray Chass of the New York Times:

“He doesn’t celebrate birthdays anymore because he believes if you don’t, you don’t age. He doesn’t celebrate Christmas anymore either because all of these dates lend themselves to aging and he doesn’t want to age.”

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No identity: Jeffrey Ulbrich of the Associated Press on the new NBA Toronto team’s search for a nickname:

“Trouble is, Toronto doesn’t have much to distinguish it. The city is not renowned for its jazz, like Utah, or its 10,000 lakes, like Los Angeles.”

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Trivia answer: It was the first rain-out for the Dodgers at the stadium. The next one didn’t occur until April 12, 1976.

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Quotebook: Dale Douglass, on players joining the Senior PGA Tour when eligible at 50: “It’s the only sport where the rookies are famous.”