She May Not Like People but Kids Are OK

Marge Schott has taken a lot of shots from the media--and deservedly so. However, give her credit for a good-will gesture to young fans: She takes them onto the field before games.

Three times this season, the Cincinnati Reds’ owner gathered a group of children in the stands and led them onto the field. She lets them walk on the artificial turf behind home plate and gathers them in the dugout while players are in the clubhouse preparing for the game.

“It’s good for the children to see we’re family,” she said. “What have you got but the fans? Without fans, you have nothing.”

Marge is getting the big picture.

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Trivia time: Wilt Chamberlain’s playing record has been well documented. What is his coaching record?

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More good will: Dennis Rodman, the controversial rebounding specialist of the Chicago Bulls, has gone through red, blond, rust, green and other dye jobs on his hair. Now, Rodman says he will sport a pink ‘do until Mother’s Day to show support for women with breast cancer.

“I don’t normally dye my hair for a cause, but this one hits close to home,” Rodman said. “My aunt is a breast cancer survivor, and I wanted to do it.”

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Midas touch: Earl Strickland, a 34-year-old veteran of 26 years of playing billiards, ran through 10 consecutive racks Thursday in Dallas without missing a shot in a nine-ball tournament.

That won him a cool prize of $1 million, paid at $50,000 annually for 20 years by the company that insured the event against anyone doing such a thing.

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Ouch! Scott Ostler in the San Francisco Chronicle: “It would appear that the [Dallas] Cowboys have a very effective drug program. However, the team’s anti-drug program is another story.”

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Get real: Rick Gosselin writes in the Dallas Morning News that Ohio State wide receiver Terry Glenn disappointed the NFL in a campus workout in March, running a 40-yard dash in 4.48 seconds.

“But he restored his stock as a top-10 pick at his second campus workout last week when he ran a 4.35.”

What will he run in May, a 4.25?

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Hand-icap: Cincinnati catcher Joe Oliver, who was batting .091 before jamming his right thumb on a tag at the plate: “I’m having enough trouble right now with 10 fingers, let alone nine.”

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See no evil: Jud Buechler of the Chicago Bulls in the San Diego Union-Tribune on whether he reads newspapers:

“It’s difficult to read the paper in Chicago. There’s stuff that’s said that you’re probably better off not knowing about.”

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Trivia answer: Chamberlain coached the San Diego Conquistadors of the American Basketball Assn. in 1973-74. San Diego had a 37-47 record in the regular season and a 2-4 record in the playoffs.

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And finally: Boston slugger Kevin Mitchell, happy that the media are paying attention to his career again after spending last year with the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks in Japan:

“They wouldn’t talk to me. They were scared. I was like Godzilla over there.”