Maybe They Forgot He Wasn’t in Yet

Nick Canepa in the San Diego Union Tribune: “It’s nice to see Jim Brown enter the College Football Hall of Fame the same year Jim Grabowski, Chris Burford and Tommy Casanova made it.

“How stupid are these people? Jim Brown? You wait 40 years on Jim Brown?”

Trivia time: What do Rich Dauer, John Shelby, Rex Hudler, Tim Hulett and Manny Alexander have in common?

His fault: John Feinstein in Inside Sports, reporting that Davis Love III gave Michael Jordan his first set of golf clubs while both were attending the University of North Carolina:

“That started Jordan down the road to his famous golfing obsession--and to the large gambling debts he has been known to pile up on the links.

“ ‘Sometimes I feel like the guy who gave Dillinger his first gun,’ Love said when the subject came up.”

Shocking: Mark Kriegel in the New York Daily News: “Who’d have figured that by September there’d be no football in L.A. and no baseball in New York?”

Ultimate snub: Bob Kravitz in the Denver Rocky Mountain News: “They were going to have the Little League World Series at Coors Field, but they decided the fences were too short.”

No doubt: Chris Berman says ESPN’s addition of 15 extra minutes to its pregame show isn’t a personal problem:

“I’m like [late Illinois Sen.] Everett Dirksen. I can filibuster for 20 hours.”

Yawn: Jeff Schultz in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Los Angeles’ apparent indifference to losing the Rams and Raiders:

“L.A’s lack of football this season [hey, USC and UCLA still play here] hasn’t caused an increase in stress-management courses.

“A city that has suffered its share of disasters in recent years--earthquakes, fires, mudslides and almost anything involving the Los Angeles Police Department--isn’t going to be emotionally crippled by losing two crummy football teams.”

Quiet, please: Ann Killion in the San Jose Mercury News: “The NFL’s attempt to regulate player celebrations on the field has led to its nickname, the No Fun League.

“The NCAA can call itself Necessary to Control All Activity.”

Bulletin: In case you missed it, the Ogden (Utah) Raptors set a Pioneer League record for runs in a game Sunday, defeating the Helena Brewers, 33-10.

FYI: Stanford will play San Jose State at the Spartans’ home field on Saturday for the first time since 1900, when San Jose State was known as San Jose Normal.

Trivia answer: They are among the 29 second basemen who have played with shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. since he has been with the Baltimore Orioles.

Quotebook: USC quarterback Brad Otton on comparisons to former Trojan Todd Marinovich: “My dad was a coach too, but I grew up on Fruity Pebbles and Quarter Pounders with cheese.”