The Little Things Count in Pros, Tiger Learns

Apparently, Tiger Woods isn’t big on details.

On his way to the Greater Milwaukee Open, his first tournament as a pro, Woods was unaware he had to pay an entry fee.

Said Butch Harmon, Woods’ coach, “We got in the car to drive over from the hotel and I asked Tiger, ‘Have you got your checkbook?’ He looked at me and said, ‘Checkbook? What for?’

“I explained there’s a $100 entry fee for pros. He said, ‘Oh man, I don’t have $100.’

“So I told him, ‘I’ll loan it to you. You’re probably good for it.’ ”

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Trivia time: Who are the three former USC assistant coaches in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

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Going to the dogs: In an effort to boost sagging attendance, the Chicago White Sox invited fans to bring their dogs to Wednesday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers.

“They’re doing something to get the fans back,” said Matt Molay, who showed up with his golden retriever. “If they count by feet, they got twice as many.”

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Picture that: Shelly Sheetz, a former Colorado All-American point guard who played a year of pro basketball in Germany, had a harder time at the supermarket than she did on the court.

“It’s an adjustment, particularly when you have to shop from the pictures on the can,” Sheetz said.

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Mime troupe: Dave Armstrong and Jeff Kingery, broadcasters for the Colorado Rockies, got laryngitis during a recent trip.

“We’re going to the Marcel Marceau School of Broadcasting,” Armstrong told the Denver Post.

The voters have spoken: Maybe it was that poor practice last week. Or perhaps the uniforms were dirty. Or maybe voters watched the tape of Clemson’s 41-0 Gator Bowl loss to Syracuse last New Year’s Day.

Whatever the reason, the Tigers fell from No. 25 in the AP college football poll without playing a game last week.

Brigham Young’s comeback victory over then-No. 13 Texas A&M; in the Pigskin Classic last Saturday boosted the previously unranked Cougars to No. 19 and pushed out Clemson, which opens the season Saturday at North Carolina.

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Ring snatchers: Thieves in Oklahoma City stole a 2,220-pound wrestling ring.

“It’s awfully hard to hide something like this,” said Clark Peterson, a wrestling announcer. “It would be murder on a car.”

The day after it was reported missing, a witness saw a flat-bed trailer, with the ring still attached, hitched to a car parked at a home improvement store.

Maybe the thieves were planning to carpet it.

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Trivia answer: Oakland Raider owner Al Davis, former Washington Redskin coach Joe Gibbs and former New York Giant center Mel Hein.

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And finally: Garney Healey, former director of operations for the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League, is suing the club for $84,000 for firing him without cause.

He may want to rethink his position.

Healey selected a dead man in the CFL dispersal draft and traded the same 1996 draft pick to two teams.