Keep That Winning Tradition (Started in 1994) Going, Lads
Long-suffering Arsenal soccer fans might have wondered what the club’s vice chairman, David Dein, was talking about on the eve of the European Cup Winners’ Cup final against Real Zaragoza when he said, “Arsenal’s traditions demand that we keep winning trophies.”
Sure, Arsenal, the north London club with fans as loyal as the Chicago Cubs’, is trying to become the first team to defend the Winners’ Cup successfully today in Paris.
But a winning tradition? Arsenal, a dynasty in the 1930s, has had sporadic success since.
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Trivia time: Who is the tallest pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the major leagues?
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Sound advice: Alejandro Aguila Filipich, manager of the Amazon Clipper fishing boat, tells visiting anglers who want to avoid dangerous stingrays, piranha, freshwater sharks, huge piraiba that occasionally swallow children and toothpick-sized candiru that burrow inside their hosts: “Don’t get in the water.”
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Just asking: Woody Woodburn of the Ventura Star wanted to know: “Which will be over first--the O.J. trial or the America’s Cup?”
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Sounds familiar: The University of Pittsburgh has a cornerback named Anthony Dorsett--son of former running back Tony Dorsett.
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Off and running: In Bernadette Sabath’s one-woman play, “There’s a Chick in the Field,” Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the Court Theatre in West Hollywood, a skit poking fun at her father’s love of horse racing is punctuated by real-life track announcer Trevor Denman’s call of a race.
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Extra help: Reliever Shawn Barry of Keene (N.H.) State entered a recent game in the top of the eighth against New Hampshire with the score tied. Eight innings later, he had 18 strikeouts and a 5-3 loss.
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Sleepless in L.A.: The Good Doctor in Inside Sports was asked what Stephen King’s latest book, “Insomnia,” was about.
“Coaching the Clippers,” he answered.
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Says it all: At a recent benefit dinner in Los Angeles, a basketball autographed by UCLA players was auctioned for $2,200. A signed team photo of the Clippers opened at a minimum bid of $25, but nobody showed interest. It was dropped to $10, eventually selling for $20.
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Priorities: A letter in Bodyboarding magazine sounded more like a personal ad:
“Single white male in his early 30s. . . . looking for single females between ages 25 and 30 that live in the Greater Boston, Mass., or South Shore areas. Race unimportant as long as they have a wet suit, fins and bodyboard.”
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Please, no: Coach George Seifert of the San Francisco 49ers: “If we could keep the group we have right now, I’d do cartwheels. And if we get Deion Sanders too, I’d streak naked down Market Street.”
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Trivia answer: Randy Johnson, 6 feet 10, of the Seattle Mariners.
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Quotebook: Charles Barkley, describing his Phoenix Suns: “We’re in the butt-kicking business. And business is good.”
