Belle Is Up to Old Tricks on Halloween

In the tradition of trick-or-treat on Halloween night, Albert Belle, the Cleveland Indians’ temperamental outfielder, had no treats and he suffered the tricks.

Belle’s house in Euclid, Ohio, was egged, and a trick-or-treater complained that Belle later bumped him with his car.

Belle’s father told the trick-or-treaters that he had no candy for them. “As soon as he closes the door, we hear a bombardment of egg shells on my door,” Belle said Wednesday. “So I come outside and chase them.”

The outfielder wouldn’t confirm whether he gave chase in his car or on foot. Police officers found no bruises or abrasions on the leg of the boy who said he had been hit by Belle’s car.

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Add Belle: In his initial telephone call to Euclid police, Belle said, “You better get somebody over here, because if I find one of them, I’ll kill them.”

The irony is that there is a candy bar named after Belle. He must have been in short supply.

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Trivia time: Who is the former Pacific 10 Conference football coach with the best winning percentage?

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Out of sight: Wayne Lockwood in the San Diego Union-Tribune on grumpy Eddie Murray and Belle: “If they don’t wish to be public figures, they can find a nice, quiet profession like forest rangers.”

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Cottage industry: An update on Scott Mellanby of the Florida Panthers, who killed a rat in the dressing room earlier this month and immediately scored two goals for what a teammate called a “rat trick.”

Mellanby went on to score eight goals and get five assists in his next nine games. An entrepreneur now sells plastic rats for $5 apiece outside Miami Arena. Whenever Mellanby scores, it rains rodents.

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Yawn! Davey Johnson, the new Baltimore Oriole manager, said managing with the American League’s designated hitter rule will be easier:

“I feel like I’m going to a retirement home. I’m going to have to think of things to do to keep from getting bored.”

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Shot down: “Unforgettable! The 100 Greatest Moments in Los Angeles Sports History” is a coffee table book produced by the Los Angeles Sports Council.

It’s puzzling, but one moment that was nominated and didn’t make the list was the 1910 Dominguez Field Air Meet.

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Looking back: On this day in 1986, Minnesota’s Tommy Kramer passed for 490 yards and four touchdowns, but the Vikings lost to the Washington Redskins in overtime, 44-38.

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Trivia answer: UCLA’s Henry (Red) Sanders, 47-11-1, .805.

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Quotebook: Hartford Whaler Coach Paul Holmgren on the stingy goaltending of Sean Burke: “It’s like parting the Red Sea. He gives them an opening, but most of the scorers wind up drowning.”