Getting to Roots of Problem Might Not Work for Everyone

Australian tennis star Evonne Goolagong was a reassuring figure for every neighborhood hacker who has lost a grip on a winnable tennis match, grasping defeat from certain victory.

She did it frequently, yet her talent managed to subdue the tendency to “walkabout” during a match, enough to win two Wimbledon titles and the Australian Open four times.

Years later, Goolagong says she found something of an explanation after researching “Home: The Evonne Goolagong Story,” a book that, among other things, explores her aboriginal culture and background.

“I found out they weren’t really very competitive people,” Goolagong told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “Which is really strange, you know, because I was in a very competitive business. But maybe it answers a lot of questions about me.”

And, as for the rest of us?

Keep on blaming the shoes.

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Trivia time: Who holds the record for hitting into the most triple plays?

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Faustian bargain: Infielder Fausto Cruz couldn’t be blamed if he was a bit out of sorts when called up by the Oakland Athletics from Edmonton of the Pacific Coast League.

He flew from Edmonton to Minnesota, where a connecting flight to Chicago was canceled. Once in Chicago, running hours late, he hailed a cab and asked to go to the ballpark.

“Which one?” asked the cab driver.

Cruz remembered he played against the Cubs during spring training and asked to go to Wrigley Field. No A’s there, of course.

Finally, he ended up at his desired destination, Comiskey Park. Total travel time: 11 hours.

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Shuttle diplomacy: Pele and Diego Maradona recently met to discuss the enigmatic Argentine’s possible move to the Brazilian club Santos, for which Pele now serves as a director. Roberto Seabra, Pele’s business partner, said that it wasn’t difficult for them to find common ground.

“They have never got on well, but it was not difficult to reconcile them,” he said. “They are both geniuses, and geniuses understand each other.”

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Out of control: Not that they’re football crazy in Texas or anything, but the May 24--yes, May 24--Dallas Morning News devoted two full pages in a centerfold layout to the Cowboy-49er game.

The game that will be played Nov. 12.

Included is a position-by-position analysis.

“It has been more than four months since the Cowboys and 49ers slugged it out in the Candlestick Park mud,” Tim Cowlishaw wrote. “It is nearly six months until they meet in Texas Stadium. And the rematch in the NFC Championship game comes two months later.”

Cowlishaw does not pick a winner. Probably holding something back for next week.

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Trivia answer: Baltimore Oriole third baseman Brooks Robinson, who hit into four of them during his career.

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Quotebook: San Antonio guard Doc Rivers, joking that he wasn’t worried about being around teammate Dennis Rodman, who told Sports Illustrated that he visits gay bars and kisses his gay friends: “No, because I don’t have a good enough body for him to look at.”