It’s One School Where They Will Want to Fail

Ever hear of a school for fish? Not a school of fish, but a school for fish.

Trout raised in Idaho’s hatcheries are being sent to school to learn they are supposed to enjoy fat, slimy worms, instead of living on junk food--little green pellets made of fish meal and vegetable protein fed to them by the state Fish and Game Department while they’re growing up.

“They’ve never seen a worm in their life,” said Jeff Dillon, of the trout education project. That has created a problem for anglers who try to catch fish with night crawlers, the big variety of earthworm widely sold for bait.

The fish will spend five days being fed worms before they are released. It’s an economic thing with the state. Pellets cost 30 cents a pound, compared to $4 for worms.

Trivia time: Who was the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal?

Singing the blues: Having the St. Louis Blues lose Wayne Gretzky to the New York Rangers didn’t go over too well with St. Louis clothier Gus Torregrossa, who said he was stuck with $10,000 worth of Gretzky sweaters.

Which prompted Post-Dispatch columnist Jeff Gordon to warn, “Let’s hope Gus didn’t invest too heavily in Lawrence Phillips jerseys as well.”

The wrong guy: One day after Cleveland traded popular second baseman Carlos Baerga to the New York Mets, a plane circled Jacobs Field with a banner that said, “Trade Hart, Not Carlos!”

John Hart is the Indians’ general manager. A banner in the upper deck said, “You broke our hearts. We want Carlos!”

Paranoid? Baltimore Oriole officials feel they were short-changed when the American League schedule was drawn up, presumably because of their pro-union stance in the labor war.

The Orioles do not visit Oakland, Anaheim and Seattle consecutively, so they must make four round trips to the West Coast, compared to two for the New York Yankees.

A new tune: Oakland Raider followers, mindful that quarterback Jeff Hostetler is 35 and the team lost its final six games last season, say the team may have to change its motto to “Just win, maybe.”

Babe in the woods: Tiger Woods’ success after the much publicized story about how his dad had him swinging a golf club at age 1 has prompted young parents to provide clubs for their newborns.

One parent became frustrated when the baby kept giving the club back to him. He went so far as to ask a pro what was the problem.

“He knows his caddie gave him the wrong club,” the pro replied.

Trivia answer: Margaret Abbott, a Chicago socialite, who won a nine-hole golf tournament in the 1900 Paris Games.