Maybe They’ll Change This City’s Name to St. Mark

The Angels’ hopes of signing Mark McGwire this fall when he’s a free agent may be eroding with the welcome the former Oakland Athletics slugger is receiving in St. Louis, where fans come early to watch him in batting practice and cheer even when he strikes out.

“I wish every ballplayer could feel like that,” McGwire said. “It’s absolutely fabulous. People say this is probably the best baseball town in the country. It’s everything and more.”

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Trivia time: Who are the only brothers to pitch no-hit games in the major leagues?

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A year later: Tiger Woods has won the Masters, five other tournaments and $2.6 million this year, which is quite a change from 12 months ago.

“Last year at this time, I was playing in the U.S. Amateur,” Woods said. “That seems like about 10 years ago.”

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No change: Robbie Buhl suffered a concussion when he crashed during a test session before an Indy Racing League event at Pikes Peak Raceway and missed two races before coming back to win Sunday at Loudon, N.H.

“When the doctor examined me and said I’d scrambled my brain a little bit,” Buhl said, “I tried to tell him that’s the way I always am.”

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Life in the NFL: When the Oakland Raiders moved into a new locker room at their Alameda training site, rookie cornerback Calvin Branch was assigned one of the more coveted corner lockers. But when he briefly left the room, veteran Albert Lewis quickly moved Branch’s clothes and seized the spot.

No argument: Lewis has 14 years of experience, Branch none.

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Way to go, Jerry: San Diego Padre broadcaster Jerry Coleman just keeps coming up with malapropisms. During a Padres-Cincinnati Reds game, with the score tied in the bottom of the ninth, Coleman said: “There’s a soft liner which is caught by the second baseman. And the ballgame is over--for this inning.”

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Money isn’t everything: During a four-game stretch last week, the Atlanta Braves’ multimillion dollar rotation of John Smoltz, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Denny Neagle combined for a 1.72 earned-run average but their record was 0-1.

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Impressed: Darren Daulton, Florida Marlin catcher, on 16-game winner Darryl Kile of the Houston Astros: “His curveball might be illegal in some states. Sometimes I think he has a joystick on that thing.”

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Life is short: Last year, 15-year-old Amanda Beard won one gold and two silver medals in swimming at the Atlanta Olympics. This year she didn’t even make the USA team for the world championships next January in Perth, Australia.

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Trivia answer: Bob and Ken Forsch, Bob for the St. Louis Cardinals and Ken for the Houston Astros.

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And finally: Something for baseball owners to think about when they agree to zillion-dollar contracts is the fact that former Philadelphia Phillie outfielder Lenny Dykstra is being paid $18.2 million through 1998--and Dykstra’s back problems have prevented him from playing since May 19, 1996.