They Didn’t Call Him ‘Fats’ for Nothing

Minnesota Fats, the famed pool hustler who died Jan. 19, had a lifelong aversion to physical fitness.

In a 1988 interview with The Times’ Julie Cart, Fats put it this way:

“I wouldn’t carry a golf bag if you put a machine gun in my mouth. Carry a golf bag, 100 pounds of clubs? You gotta put it in the car, take it outta the car . . . to me, it’s the silliest thing on earth.

“Ninety-nine out of 100 people think exercise is the greatest thing. I’ll show you anybody who is an exercise nut, he’s 50-60 years old--looks like he’s 90.”

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Trivia time: With the voting of Joe Gibbs into the Pro Football Hall of Hame, there are now three former USC assistant coaches so honored. Who are the two others?

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How time flies: Was it really 11 years ago that a 17-year-old named Boris Becker burst upon the world’s tennis stage at Wimbledon?

Yep.

He’s 28 now, and talking about the encroachment of age upon his game.

At the Australian Open this week, he told an interviewer:

“Although you are more nervous because you know that you haven’t got another 10 years, you keep cool because you realize it’s only a game.”

If someone doesn’t slow down the clock, we’ll soon be reading of Tiger Woods joining the senior golf tour.

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Kingly thought: Ventura Star columnist Woody Woodburn recently penned an “I Have a Dream” column for Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday:

“I have a dream that the next time some macho athlete starts to assault a female, she turns out to be a fourth-degree black belt with a bad temper.”

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Slight problem: Al Franken, promoter of the L.A. Invitational track meet, mailed out invitations to prominent Southland high school track athletes.

One coach returned an entry form for a speedy half-miler, with the notation: “We have another runner just as fast, but he’s in jail.”

Quipped Franken, “I guess he wasn’t fast enough.”

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Pop the bubbly: Howard University, the last remaining winless team in Division I men’s basketball, finally ended its slump Saturday with a 58-55 victory over Maryland Eastern Shore.

Afterward, Howard Coach Mike McLeese opened some champagne and said: “I feel like we just won the NCAA tournament.”

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In case you wondered: The Lombardi Trophy, awarded to the Super Bowl winner, is hand-crafted of sterling silver, stands 21 inches high and weighs 7 pounds 3 ounces. It’s worth about $10,000.

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Magic rip: NBA Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson, in a Sunday radio interview in Cincinnati with USC broadcaster Mike Lamb, did not approve of Magic Johnson’s comeback.

“He said he thought the game had passed Magic by, that he was too old to contribute,” Lamb said.

“He said, ‘He can’t compete against the Michael Jordans, he’s just too old.’ ”

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Trivia answer: Mel Hein and Al Davis.

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Quotebook: Dallas cornerback Deion Sanders on the Cowboys’ image: “Yeah, sure we traveled in limos. We’re stars, baby. I can’t help if we’re charismatic. . . . I can’t help it if we got pizazz.”