Heidi and Bruce? Well, Maybe They Can Be Pen Pals

The gossip column in Sunday’s New York Daily News had an item claiming that Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss has “fallen madly in love” with none other than former King owner Bruce McNall.

Fleiss is awaiting sentencing for tax evasion and money laundering, and McNall is awaiting sentencing for four counts of fraud.

The Daily News said Fleiss told People magazine she’s so enamored of McNall, she wants to have his children.

McNall’s spokesman denied that the two are an item.

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Trivia time: What is the UCLA record for the longest pass play?

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The diplomat: Charles Barkley said if he had his way, he would blow up Saddam Hussein’s house, “and if anybody else was inside, too bad.”

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Come again? Henry Schulman in the San Francisco Examiner: “Congratulations to the Texas Rangers’ marketing whizzes who have touted the team’s playoff run as the ‘Hunt for Red October,’ which happens to be a novel by Tom Clancy, who happens to be part owner of the Baltimore Orioles, whom the Rangers may face in the first round of the playoffs.”

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Mercy ruling: In April, the baseball team at the College of St. Francis in Joliet, Ill., defeated Robert Morris College of Chicago, 71-1. That led to an official ruling from the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, which decreed that when a team goes ahead by 25 runs, the game is over.

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The Aints: The New Orleans Saints are 0-4 and Joe Gilmartin of the Arizona Republic writes that Coach Jim Mora is getting the brunt of the criticism.

“This being election season, disgruntled fans have reworked a presidential campaign slogan, chanting, ‘No Mora years! No Mora years!’ ”

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Non-best sellers: Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune polled readers on suggestions for Thin Book titles. A sampling:

--”Four Minutes of Glory” by Jack Haley.

--”The Importance of Character in Football” by Barry Switzer.

--”How to Prepare Your Team for the World Series” by the last 20 or so Cub managers.

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Don’t do it again! After fumbling in each of Philadelphia’s first two games, Ricky Watters saw some helpful messages written on walls behind the end zones at Veterans Stadium:

“Ricky, The Ball Is Your Friend,” and “Ricky, Don’t Lose That Football.”

Said Watters, “These people are tough.”

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Trivia answer: 95 yards, Wayne Cook to J.J. Stokes against Washington in 1993.

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And finally: When the Arizona Diamondbacks’ new baseball home opens in Phoenix in 1998, women’s toilets will outnumber men’s, 340-55. The building also will have 218 urinals for the men.

Builders of Bank One Ballpark are hoping that arrangement will help eliminate long lines at the women’s restrooms that sometimes plague sports and concert facilities.