When You Play for the Rams, a Blowout Is Nothing Unusual

Jimmie Jones, a St. Louis Ram defensive tackle, travels in a van rigged with 20 stereo speakers, three miniature TVs, a VCR, two tape players, a Sega Genesis and a fax machine.

It takes three batteries and a special alternator to power the system.

“You really can’t put it up very high,” Jones said. “One of my back windows popped out last summer because I pumped [the volume] up too much.”

Trivia time: What player holds the NCAA Division I-A record for most points in a football game?

Don’t tell Cal: Now that Cal Ripken Jr. has broken Lou Gehrig’s record of 2,130 consecutive games played, here’s a new number for him to consider, 2,215.

That’s the consecutive-games record in Japanese baseball, set by Sachio Kinugas, Hiroshima Toyo Carp catcher and third baseman, from 1970 to 1987.

Add Ripken: An editorial in Thursday’s national edition of the New York Times began: “Woody Allen once observed that ‘80% of success is showing up.’ Cal Ripkin Jr. should know.”

Ripkin?

To the newspaper’s credit, the editorial stuck to the misspelling all the way through. There is something to be said for consistency.

Another streak: The Angels have used 28 shortstops during Ripken’s streak, and the most consecutive games played by any of them was 157 by the currently injured Gary DiSarcina.

What a shame: Bernie Lincicome in the Chicago Tribune on what other penalties besides a four-game suspension await Scott Milanovich, the Maryland quarterback who gambled on college sports: “He is no longer eligible for Baseball’s Hall of Fame.”

Lost in space: Robert Smith, Minnesota Viking running back and astronomy buff, on how he passed the time during his 34-day holdout:

“I spent hours on my computer, downloading Hubble telescope images of the comet colliding with Jupiter, the rings of Saturn and different nebula.”

Summa cum laude: Wide receiver Andre Rison of the Cleveland Browns in an interview with Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer on his off-field problems while playing for the Atlanta Falcons:

“I did my bad, I did my good. I’ve never killed anybody. But for 28 years I’ve been thought of as an outcast. I went to Outcast University. The way I’m portrayed, you’d think I was a criminal or something.”

Looking back: On this day in 1979, Tracy Austin became the youngest player to win the U.S. Open when she upset Chris Evert Lloyd, 6-4, 6-3.

Looking back II: On this day in 1992, Brett Butler stole home against the Braves in Atlanta, the last time it has been accomplished by a Dodger.

Trivia answer: Howard Griffith of Illinois, 48 against Southern Illinois on Sept. 22, 1990.

Quotebook: Bernard Gallacher, European Ryder Cup captain: “When you look at the American team, I don’t think there is anything to be scared of.”