It Always Pays to Get an Early Start

USC running back LaVale Woods claims he is the Carl Lewis of video games.

“The important thing is duration and how long can they do it,” Woods said. “Carl has done it forever. That’s me. I’ve been playing video games for 17 years and I’ve been at the top for 17 years.”

By that reckoning, Woods was a video wonder at 4.

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Trivia time: What is the NCAA Division I-A football record for longest unbeaten streak?

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Go home, son: Nathan Chaves, the 20-year-old apprentice jockey who rode his first Santa Anita winner last Wednesday, looks so young he says, “I get carded at PG-13 movies.”

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Ugh! Ronny Johnson of the Manchester United soccer team, on playing for a team in Turkey:

“They have a lot of rituals and superstitions. I was shocked when I was introduced to the fans, because they brought out a sheep, cut its head off and then smeared blood over my forehead.”

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Spy report: California quarterback Pat Barnes told Jeff Faraudo of the Oakland Tribune that his brother, John, a former UCLA quarterback, wasn’t welcome at Bruin practices last week.

“He got kicked out of UCLA’s practice,” Pat said. “[Coach Bob] Toledo told him he couldn’t come back until after the game with us.”

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Look for it: Gene Collier in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette before the World Series:

“My fear for the World Series is that the Yankees will win it, but that [Ted] Turner will purchase every last video, audio and written account, then release it this winter as a TNT feature film in which the Braves sweep.”

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A real believer: Golfer Mike Reid wonders why there ever was any doubt among his peers about Tiger Woods’ ability to win on the PGA Tour.

“He won three U.S. Amateurs, for goodness sake,” Reid told Steve Hershey of USA Today. “What did people think, that he was going to come out here and hit ground balls?

“I saw him play on my course in Provo [Utah], and I went home after eight holes. I got tired of being astonished.”

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Strange new world: Pat Burns, fired last year as coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, on being a born-again civilian:

“People perceive you differently. They look at you like you’re done for life. You go to a grocery store and people wonder: ‘Is he going to be able to pay for his groceries?’ ”

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Trivia answer: 63 games by Washington, 1907-17. The Huskies won 59 and tied four.

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And finally: Jim Leyland has agreed to what is believed to be a unique stipulation in his contract as manager of the Florida Marlins: He won’t smoke cigarettes on the bench.

“I’m not allowed to smoke in the dugout,” Leyland said. “But I’m not going to tell a lie--I’m going to smoke the hell out of them in my office.”