Young Is Not Quite an MVP as Endorser

Steve Young? Super Bowl MVP. Remember? The San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback hasn’t exactly been in our faces, selling products, taking advantage of his success, has he? That may change, sort of, said agent Leigh Steinberg.

“You’re going to start seeing ads on a national level featuring Steve,” Steinberg said. “But he’s not going to be the Refrigerator. We don’t intend for him to be the pet rock of his era.”

Young has deals worth about $3 million. Meanwhile, Michael Jordan’ revenue from marketing, licensing and advertising is estimated at $31 million annually, which probably means he doesn’t need to play football to corner the endorsement market.

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Trivia time: What was the healthiest NBA team this season?

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Permanent icing: Because the Nordiques are moving to Denver, some people are taking it hard in Quebec City. Wrote Le Soleil columnist Claude Larochelle: “Quebec City will become a cemetery.”

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Scouts’ honor: Baseball “experts” love to point out that many major league stars were not high choices in the amateur draft, but the fact is that Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Bonds, Matt Williams, Frank Thomas, Barry Larkin, Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens, Kevin Appier and Jack McDowell were all first-round picks.

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By magic: How could anyone argue that Magic Johnson would not help the Lakers if he wanted to play again? Yet, there are many who are not thrilled by Johnson’s hints that he might come back.

From David Davis in LA Weekly: “If only Magic Johnson would just shut up. His repeated pronouncements of a comeback in a Laker uniform are as annoying as those ‘Mr. Jenkins’ Tangueray ads.”

Thought he was going to say Charles Barkley in those deodorant ads.

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Victim II: Glenn Cullop, the Winston-Salem pitcher who had his jaw broken in that Carolina League brawl on Strike Out Domestic Violence Night recently? He’s the pitcher who allowed Michael Jordan’s last home run.

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Confidence: Mary Decker Slaney is 36, has had nearly two dozen leg, foot and ankle operations and hasn’t run a race in three years. She said she will try to make the Olympic team for a fourth time but hinted it might be wise not to order her uniform just yet.

Said Slaney: “I think if I was a betting person, I’d bet against myself.”

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Teen dilemma: Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post said someone needs to stop 18-year-old Chicago high school basketball star Kevin Garnett from turning pro now.

Said Wilbon: “If Kevin Garnett winds up leaving childhood for the NBA without first going to college, then a whole lot of adults who claim to have his best interests at heart will have failed him.”

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Trivia answer: The Milwaukee Bucks, who lost only 10 player-games to injury or illness.

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Quotebook: Bob Verdi of the Chicago Tribune on low major league attendance: “Evidently, fans aren’t stupid, after all.”