Pay Wasn’t Much but He Learned to Handle Money

Clyde Drexler got his first real job, if you don’t count the time he spent working at the family-owned Drexler’s Barbecue in Houston, when he played for the University of Houston.

Drexler, an economics major, spent three summers as a bank teller. He liked to pick the brain of the bank’s president.

“I made $4 an hour, then got a raise to $5 an hour,” Drexler said. “But I learned a lot.”

Apparently so. Drexler is making $9.75 million this season with the Houston Rockets.

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Trivia time: Who is the oldest player in the major leagues?

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But what else really is? After pitcher Turk Wendell of the Chicago Cubs got the first save of his career, he said he didn’t want the ball as a keepsake because it would just sit on a shelf and collect dust.

Said Wendell, “It’s not like a deer or nothing.”

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And he hates money: David Casstevens of the Arizona Republic knows exactly what kind of player every NFL team was looking for in the draft.

Writes Casstevens: “He is strong and agile. His work ethic is unquestioned. He loves his mother. He hasn’t been indicted, and he scored high on the Wonderlic.”

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So subtract one: Yes, the end clearly was in sight in New Jersey for Butch Beard, fired as Net coach soon after these words by team President Michael Rowe:

“I thought having 12 good players and a good coach who wanted to be together, to work hard and play hard, would be good enough to get something done. Well, I was 12 for 13.”

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Or the Incredible Hulk: Former NFL coach Jerry Glanville said the Arizona Cardinals didn’t goof when they chose Illinois defensive end Simeon Rice instead of UCLA offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden with the No. 3 pick in the draft.

Said Glanville, “If you take an offensive lineman with the third pick, he better be Superman.”

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The Slammer, Part 1: Life’s embarrassing moments keep happening to Pittsburgh Steeler running back Bam Morris, who attended a pretrial hearing on drug-possession charges, then got his tie caught in his car door when he tried to leave, right in front of a photographer.

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Maybe Loch Ness: Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Sun Times said Charles Barkley unloaded this line on Cedric Ceballos: “Hey, where are you taking your next vacation? Flagstaff?”

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Fish story: Thousands of fishermen flocked to the Eastern Sierra last weekend for the start of trout-fishing season.

After a hard day of fishing, they may have headed for the local restaurant whose daily special was . . . Idaho trout.

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Trivia answer: St. Louis pitcher Rick Honeycutt, who will be 42 on June 29.

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Nigh’, nigh’: Sparky Anderson is quite sure he is enjoying his retirement. Says Sparky, “I’m in my pajamas by 4:30 p.m.”

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And finally: Actor Charlie Sheen bought all the tickets in a left-field section of Anaheim Stadium at an Angel game last week, hoping to catch a home run ball, but none were hit his way.

Said the Angels’ Chuck Finley, “He should have bought tickets when I was pitching.”