Cooling Off Could Have Been Quite Hazardous

Senior PGA Tour veteran Simon Hobday of South Africa is an unconventional type, as noted by Phil Richards of the Indianapolis Star:

“On a beastly hot day in beastly hot Sun City, South Africa, during the mid-1980s, Hobday was playing a tournament at Gary Player GC when he arrived in a full sweat at a par-three hole that played across a lake.”

Said John Bland, a senior player, who witnessed what happened next: “He hit his shot, took his clothes off, swam across in his underwear and got dressed on the other side.”

Player is still amazed. “There are crocodiles in that lake,” he said. “Those crocodiles will eat you up like a sardine for breakfast.”

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Trivia time: Five players share the NFL record for most touchdown passes in a game, seven. Who was the first and who was the most recent?

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Jekyll & Hyde: John McClain of the Houston Chronicle writes that Chicago Bear middle linebacker Bryan Cox is appalled at some of the things he has done on the field. And when Cox sees replays of himself, he’s embarrassed.

“I feel like the biggest idiot in the world, but it’s too late to change it then, and I know it’s going to happen again.

“It’s unfortunate that it takes me to get home and get in my dad mode and see my wife and kids and watch ‘SportsCenter’ at 3 o’clock in the morning and think, ‘Damn, you look like an idiot.’ ”

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Fowl pilgrimage: Fox TV analyst John Madden has an added incentive in making his first visit in 16 years as a broadcaster to Buffalo today for the Bills’ game against the Dallas Cowboys.

“I love chicken wings, but I’ve never had the originals,” Madden told Rudy Martzke of USA Today. “We’re going to the Anchor bar, where chicken wings were born.”

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Fashion statement: Washington Redskin defensive tackle Marc Boutte, on his former team, the Rams: “They’ve got a new coaching staff, a new stadium and those same ugly uniforms.”

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Notoriety: Detroit pitcher Felipe Lira, who recently gave up the 500th home run of Eddie Murray’s career, said ruefully:

“Now people all around the world will know me in a bad way. Maybe someday I’ll be good news around the world. Right. Kinda like Hulk Hogan.”

Hulk Hogan?

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Ouch! From the Good Doctor in Inside Sports:

Question: How is the University of Miami football squad shaping up?

Answer: Not bad. The prison food isn’t as bad as they thought it would be, and there are parole hearings set for next month.

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Trivia answer: Sid Luckman of the Chicago Bears against the New York Giants on Nov. 14, 1943, and Joe Kapp of the Minnesota Vikings against the Baltimore Colts on Sept. 28, 1969.

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And finally: California defensive end Andy Jacobs in the Oakland Tribune on new Coach Steve Mariucci: “He’s so intense! Those eyes just grab hold of you, and God, you do what he wants because . . . you’re scared.”