If Nastase Can’t Boom, Boom, Boom ‘Em, He Will Join ‘Em

Ilie Nastase, who had fans in fits of laughter as a player while also plaguing umpires, has not lost his sense of humor.

In a criticism of today’s tennis, Nastase said the large graphite rackets used by most present-day players should be banned.

“All the skill is going out of the game,” he said. “Players like Rod Laver, John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg could do wonderful things with a wooden racket. Now it’s boom, boom, boom.”

But what kind of racket is Nastase using?

“A giant graphite racket, of course,” he said. “So I can go boom, boom, boom with all the others.”

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Trivia time: How many metropolitan areas have had cross-town World Series?

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Gimme an F: Cheerleading will become a recognized high school sport in Florida, beginning with the 1996-97 school year. Complete with a state championship.

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It isn’t funny: Comedy writer Bob Lacey notes that with Steve Howe and Darryl Strawberry, “The Yankees are the first team in history to have two players forbidden by law from associating with one another.”

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Once a Colt: Baltimore’s Canadian Football League team finally has a name, the Stallions. Jim Speros, the owner of the team, announced the new name after riding into Memorial Stadium on horseback.

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Team player: When you’re hitting only .226, strange thoughts go through your mind.

For instance, Atlanta shortstop Jeff Blauser says, “If somebody wants to hit me [with a pitch], he’s doing me a favor.”

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Different result: When Hawaii and Nevada high school all-stars met in a charity football game in Las Vegas, it ended up in a brawl that ended the game before halftime. A week later, when a Southern California all-star team traveled to Maui to play another Hawaiian team, it had a happier ending.

Quarterback Archie Kahanu, a native Hawaiian who played at La Puente Bassett High, directed the winning drive in the final minute as the mainlanders won, 19-13.

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Looking back: On this day in 1913, Babe Ruth made his major league debut as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and received credit for a 4-3 victory over Cleveland. He was removed for a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning.

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Trivia answer: Four--New York, many times; Chicago, 1906; St. Louis, 1944; and San Francisco-Oakland, 1989.

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Quotebook: NBC announcer Bob Costas, on the state of baseball at the All-Star break: “Not only is the game itself at the lowest ebb in my lifetime, it’s so badly mismanaged that it would be a joke if it weren’t so tragic.”