Something About Agents Just Bugs Him

The increasing involvement of player agents is leading to the ruination of professional sports, claims columnist Tom Powers of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

“Unfortunately, the onslaught of player agents [has] turned out to be unstoppable--much like the proliferation of urban blight and sexually transmitted disease,” he wrote. “Once those agents got their antennae and/or part of their thorax in the door, there was no getting rid of them.

“Spray them with DDT, and they adapted, donning specially treated polyester suits. Trap them in a roach motel, and they ordered room service--and billed it to someone else. Pro sports is now infested with them, pro sports has been ruined by them.”

Trivia time: What school won the Sears Director’s Cup for having the winningest athletic program in the NCAA for the 1994-95 season?

He’s the same guy: Atlanta Brave General Manager John Schuerholz has been receiving accolades for his signing of free-agent pitcher Greg Maddux a couple of years ago, but he isn’t too impressed.

“I’m the same guy who signed Mark Davis for the Royals after he won the Cy Young at San Diego,” he reminded Todd Phipers of the Denver Post. “Davis couldn’t get anybody out in Kansas City.”

Looking back: On this day in 1965, Sandy Koufax pitched his second shutout of the World Series to give the Dodgers a 2-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins in Game 7.

Looking ahead: Attention Dodger and Angel fans--spring training starts in five months.

Jack’s piqued: Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday’s latest marketing campaign includes four magazine ads that say: “How good are the courses in Myrtle Beach? Ask the guys who designed them.”

Arnold Palmer and Raymond Floyd, who helped design courses there, both appeared in commercials for the South Carolina resort community.

But not Jack Nicklaus, who designed two courses along the Grand Strand. He wouldn’t go along because neither of his courses was mentioned by name.

The good side: In a time where many professional athletes are perceived as greedy, Todd Kinchen of the St. Louis Rams is like a breath of fresh air. The receiver is sending his alma mater, Louisiana State, a $10,000 scholarship check.

“I realize how important it was for me to receive a scholarship to pursue my degree; without it I would not have been able to go to college,” he said. “Now, I know just how much LSU did for me. I appreciate what I was able to get through my scholarship.”

Hard head: Soccer star Duncan Ferguson of Scotland is serving a three-month jail sentence for head-butting another player. He is the first international player in British soccer to be jailed for an on-field incident.

It was Ferguson’s fourth conviction. He was on probation at the time for a previous offense.

Trivia answer: Stanford, with championships in women’s volleyball, men’s water polo, women’s swimming and diving, men’s gymnastics and men’s tennis. UCLA was third best, USC sixth.

Quotebook: Francois Castaing, Chrysler vice president for engineering, on why there are no Dodge or Plymouth race cars: “It is stupid for Ford and General Motors to be racing in NASCAR, for it is no longer ‘Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday.’ ”