A Wimbledon Title One Way or Another

Boris Becker of Germany has won Wimbledon three times. So wouldn’t it be fitting for him to be known as Lord of Wimbledon?

Becker said he intends to bid for the manorial title, one of five being put up for auction later this month by Earl Spencer.

The 32-year-old earl, brother of Princess Diana, is selling the titles to avoid inheritance tax.

The Lordship of Wimbledon has been in the Spencer family since 1744. The title could go for as little as $75,000, a bargain for Becker, who has won more than $20 million in his tennis career.

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Trivia time: Who is the oldest player to win the U.S. Open?

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Dry toast: John Daly, who played with Tiger Woods in the first two rounds of the U.S. Open, was impressed with the Stanford golfer even when he was faltering.

“He’s tough,” Daly said. “I wish I was that tough. When I was his age [20], I was getting drunk every night. I’m proud of him.”

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Record pace: Tom Haudricourt wrote in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “It’s not easy being Albert Belle. So little time, so many people to offend.”

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For shame: From Jay Leno: “A Japanese magazine is making shocking allegations that many sumo wrestling matches are fixed. Can you believe that? Fixed matches in wrestling.

“Thank God, we live in the United States of America. You’ll never see anything like that in America.”

Who’s the hack? NBC golf commentator Johnny Miller recently referring to Mark Twain’s memorable line, “Golf is a good walk spoiled”:

“Obviously, that guy was a hack.”

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Dog daze: Now that Marge Schott has lost control of the Cincinnati Reds, what happens to Marge’s Saint Bernard, Schottzie 02? Will it continue to have access to Riverfront Stadium, where, ahem, it has left its mark?

“That’s a serious question I’m not sure anyone’s contemplated,” acting commissioner Bud Selig said.

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Eating in style: Mark McDonald of the Dallas Morning News reports that chefs from Spago restaurant will be cooking for the U.S. cycling team at its Olympic headquarters in Stone Mountain, Ga.

Spago founder Wolfgang Puck has been a cycling benefactor for several years.

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FYI: Chris Ford, named coach of the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, made the first three-point field goal in NBA history on Oct. 12, 1979.

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Trivia answer: Hale Irwin, who was 45 when he won at Medinah Country Club in Illinois in 1990.

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And finally: Steve Blass, former Pittsburgh Pirate pitcher and now a broadcaster, recalled the horrors of pitching in San Francisco’s Candlestick Park to Paul Meyer of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

“As a matter of fact, I had a better chance of escaping Alcatraz than Candlestick. Heck, I’d have rather started at Alcatraz than Candlestick.”