Who’s This Guy Marbury Leading League in Steals?

When Al Martin of the Pittsburgh Pirates arrived in Minneapolis recently for a game against the Twins, he looked out his hotel window and saw what he thought was the Metrodome.

So the next afternoon, he showed up for a pregame workout and was denied admittance by a security guard. Why? Because he wasn’t at the Metrodome. He was at the basketball arena, Target Center.

“It did seem kind of small,” Martin told Jim Caple of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “I was thinking. ‘It’s a bandbox. No wonder the ball flies out of here.’ ”

Trivia time: Today marks only the second time there will be matches played on “Middle Sunday,” the traditional rest day at Wimbledon. Who won singles titles the first time?

Trick statistic: Bob Verdi in the Chicago Tribune: “Look at it this way. Combined, the Bulls, Cubs and White Sox have won five titles in the last seven years. How many cradles of athletic superiority can make that statement?”

Sink or swim: San Antonio Coach/General Manager Gregg Popovich in USA Today, on his plans for Wake Forest center Tim Duncan, the first pick in the NBA draft:

“We’re not going to fool around and bring him off the bench and let him grow. We’re going to throw him in and let him figure it out.”

Rapid transit: Oakland Athletic slugger Mark McGwire, on Randy Johnson, the Seattle Mariners’ dominating pitcher:

“When you’re facing Randy, he has a curveball that starts in Everett [30 miles north of Seattle] and finishes at the Kingdome. Plus a 100-mph fastball. You hope and pray.”

Bravery in the Bronx: New York Met catcher Todd Hundley, on Met fans who showed at Yankee Stadium for the recent interleague series:

“A lot of them wished me luck before the game, but I turned around and wished them luck in the stands. They had enough guts to come out.”

Poor taste: From the Good Doctor in Inside Sports:

Question: Brooke Shields married Andre Agassi. OK, I accept that. Now tell me the bad news.

Answer: She’s beginning to dress like him.

Looking back: On this day in 1990, Oakland’s Dave Stewart and the Dodgers’ Fernando Valenzuela each threw no-hitters--a baseball first.

Looking back again: On this day in 1956, Jack Davis set a world record in the 110-meter high hurdles of 13.4 seconds in Bakersfield. He broke the record of 13.5 held by another USC athlete, Dick Attlesey.

Trivia answer: In 1991, Michael Stich defeated Boris Becker, 6-4, 7-6, 6-4; and Steffi Graf defeated Gabriela Sabatini, 6-4, 3-6, 8-6.

And finally: Mike Ditka, the new coach of the New Orleans Saints, will close regular-season practices to the media for the first time in the history of the franchise.

“There’s no reason for anybody to see what we’re doing. Nobody except us,” Ditka said.

Ditka did throw a bone to the media--allowing access to pre-practice stretching and warmups. How exciting!