He Changed His Mind When He Cashed His First Paycheck

Pitcher David Cone said he once considered attending the University of Missouri to study journalism before the Kansas City Royals made him a third-round draft pick out of high school in 1981.

“It was from watching too many reruns of ‘The Odd Couple,’ ” Cone said. “I thought I fit perfectly with the cigar, the pizza boxes and being a slob covering a major league team. You mean I get to write about this and get paid? I thought it was great.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the Angel record for the highest season batting average?

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How about marbles? Bernie Lincicome of the Chicago Tribune writing on his disdain for baseball’s wild-card races:

“There is a special distinction in being involved in a wild-card race. It is like shooting from the red tees, finishing first in the overweight division of a marathon, or being good at mixed doubles.”

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Small change: Tim Brown, Oakland Raider wide receiver, on the team’s new passing scheme: “We’re going to nickel and dime people. In the past, we always went for the quarter.”

High expectations: Shortly after Tiger Woods won his second consecutive U.S. Amateur Golf Championship, his father, Earl, said, “I’m going to make a prediction. Before he’s through, my son will win 14 major championships.”

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Field of dreams: Lee Trevino on John Daly, British Open golf champion: “He’s the greatest thing to happen to our game. I could take him to the middle of a cornfield in the middle of nowhere to hit a few balls and that cornfield would be sold out in no time at all.”

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Communication problem: Matt Simon, University of North Texas football coach, on some of his players not understanding the concept of two-a-day practices:

“They thought it meant practice for two days, then take a day off.”

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Touching: “And now, there they are. Standing in the doorway, walking back into our lives. They’re telling us how happy they are to be with us, how eager they are to re-create the unique love affair we once had.”

An excerpt from a soap opera? No, Monte Poole of the Oakland Tribune welcoming the Raiders back home.

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Out of sync: Gregg Jefferies of the Philadelphia Phillies hit for the cycle recently and his wife went into labor watching him do it, prompting teammate Andy Van Slyke to comment:

“His cycle was 20 minutes apart. His wife’s were seven.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1981 Fernando Valenzuela of the Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-0, tying the National League record of seven shutouts by a rookie pitcher.

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Trivia answer: Rod Carew, who hit .339 in 1983.

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Quotebook: Marv Levy, 67-year-old coach of the Buffalo Bills, when asked if he’s considering retirement: “[Amos Alonzo] Stagg coached to close to 100. Maybe I’ll do that.”