Tyson’s Main Problem May Be Lack of Desire

I’ve got the feeling that Tissue Paper Mike Tyson, formerly known as Iron Mike, is losing his desire to fight. . . .

The All-Star game often bores me, but the player selections and elections rarely do. . . .

This year the biggest gripes are about the additions to the National League roster by Manager Bobby Cox. . . .

No Sammy Sosa? Less than a so-so decision. . . .

No Oh Henry Rodriguez, until the scratch of Tony Gwynn? Oh my! . . .

It seems as though Cox isn’t getting any better at this business of picking reserves and pitchers. . . .

Rest assured, he won’t shortchange his very own Atlanta Braves. . . .

Starters John Smoltz, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine deserved to be named to the pitching staff, but reliever Mark Wohlers was a stretch. . . .

I won’t quibble with Cox’s selection of St. Louis Cardinal irregular Ozzie Smith, who makes the roster in his farewell season on the body of his work. . . .

News item: Angel reliever Troy Percival’s selection to the American League team means he will have to cancel his planned trip to Lake Havasu. Reaction: I know another prominent Southern California athlete who would be more than happy to take his place at Havasu. . . .

If there is no change in the rule that every team must be represented, the All-Star rosters should be expanded in 1998 when Arizona and Tampa Bay join up. . . .

Texas’ Johnny Oates and New York’s Joe Torre both deserve consideration as American League manager of the midseason. . . .

This time, the heat shouldn’t be taken as a valid excuse if the Rangers fold down the stretch. . . .

Remember when an earned-run average of 4.10 was considered high? On Wednesday, it was low enough for 10th place in the American League. . . .

Thumbs up to San Diego Padre coach Davey Lopes for wearing No. 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson. . . .

Delino DeShields is a candidate to become the first Dodger to lead the National League in stolen bases since 1976, when Lopes stole 63. . . .

Dodger Todd Worrell leads the National League in saves, ex-Dodger organization minor leaguer John Franco is third, and ex-Dodger John Wetteland leads the American League. . . .

The Angels will play Montreal in the Hall of Fame game Aug. 4 at Cooperstown, N.Y. . . .

The American League’s only 12-game winner, Andy Pettitte of the Yankees, already has equaled his 1995 win total. . . .

“North Dallas Forty” was a terrific book and motion picture, but the real-life saga of the Dallas Cowboys is making it seem tame. . . .

A small publishing house, Woodford Press in San Francisco, has been licensed by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games to publish a book on the Games, and the 300 pages will be available in bookstores two weeks after the closing ceremony. . . .

Boxing would be a great sport in the Olympics if not for the politics, the over-refereeing and the terrible scoring system. . . .

Please explain to me why a soft jab that lands counts as much as a knockdown punch. . . .

I imagine that the Cuban baseball team, which wears red uniforms, will be known as the Big Red Machine in Atlanta. . . .

Who is the fastest jockey? Corey Black won a 50-yard foot race among thoroughbred and quarter horse riders at Los Alamitos. . . .

Five of the eight horses in the American Handicap today at Hollywood Park are foreign bred. . . .

And then there is Kentucky-bred Kazabaiyn, who will try to win the American this year after being disqualified from second to fifth in the Stars & Stripes Handicap at Arlington Park last Independence Day. . . .

Super-middleweight champion/not-so-super point guard Roy Jones Jr. plans to play in a summer basketball league at the Long Beach Pyramid. . . .

The Roger Penske racing team is 0 for 9, its worst start in 20 years. . . .

UCLA has a record nine current and former athletes on the U.S. Olympic men’s and women’s track and field teams. . . .

USC, which opens its football season against Penn State on Aug. 25 in the Kickoff Classic at the Meadowlands, will have three byes. . . .

That’s about two too many. . . .

UCLA, which opens Sept. 7 at Tennessee, will have only one bye. . . .

Born on the Fourth of July: Firecracker George Steinbrenner (1930), Chuck Tanner (1929), Jose Oquendo (1963), Vinny Castilla (1967), Pam Shriver (1962), Todd Marinovich (1969) and Horace and Harvey Grant (1965).