Maybe America’s Cup Sailors Should Start Wearing Loafers

America’s Cup races continue over the hulk of oneAustralia, which sank off Point Loma on March 5, but it’s never far from the competitors’ thoughts.

Wise sailors remove their sea boots if they think they’re going to have to abandon ship because the boots restrict their swimming. TAG Heuer skipper Chris Dickson had both thoughts in mind recently when his mainsheet, which controls the mainsail, snapped with a loud crack.

“We don’t think about the gum leaf-green boat on the bottom of the ocean,” Dickson said, “but when we heard the ‘crack,’ (tactician) Peter Lester and I started undoing our shoelaces.”

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Trivia time: When did UCLA make its first appearance in the NCAA Final Four?

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Hard times: NFLPA Executive Director Gene Upshaw: “I don’t set my salary. If I did, I would have paid myself more because I’m worth more.”

Upshaw is paid more than $1.2 million a year, according to the New York Times.

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Endangered species: Bill Tammeus in the Kansas City Star: “Wolves have been reintroduced to the wilds of Yellowstone National Park. No word on whether they’re replacement wolves or union members.”

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Eastern viewpoint: Peter Vecsey in the New York Post: “The Rams have a better chance of getting out of L.A. before the O.J. jury.”

And: “The bad news regarding (Dennis) Rodman is he’ll be out two to four weeks. The good news is his alarm clock works. “

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His own Waterloo: Golden State’s Chris Mullin on his assumed leadership role with the Warriors: “Leadership may be the most disgusting, overused term in sports. A guy is who he is. What am I, Napoleon Bonaparte or something.”

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Gourmand: Larry Guest of the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel on portly, 48-year-old pitcher Pedro Borbon before he was cut by the Cincinnati Reds: “The question is not whether Pedro still has zip on his fastball, but racing stripes on his fork.”

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Good riddance: Ira Miller of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that Ricky Watters’ signing with the Philadelphia Eagles has rubbed some of his former teammates the wrong way.

“In place of Watters’ nameplate above his locker, some players put a piece of white athletic tape and wrote on it, ‘Me, Myself and I 32.’ Watters’ uniform number is 32.”

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Ugh! Jorge Luis Gonzalez on Riddick Bowe, his opponent in an upcoming heavyweight title fight: “I’m the lion and Bowe is the hyena. I want to eat his heart. His death is coming June 17.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1939, Oregon defeated Ohio State, 46-33, to win the first NCAA basketball championship in Evanston, Ill.

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Trivia answer: 1962, when UCLA lost to Cincinnati, 72-70, in the semifinals on Tom Thacker’s basket--his only points of the game.

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Quotebook: Rob Dibble, Chicago White Sox relief pitcher, on replacement baseball: “It’s a beer league or something.”