Even Mowing Makes the Cut in Sports World

Ready, set, mow!

That will be the rallying cry at the U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Assn.’s STA-BIL Nationals later this month, an event featuring what organizers call “America’s Fastest Mowing Sport.”

The nationally televised competition features three divisions: Stock (10 mph), Prepared (35 mph) and Factory Experimental (50 mph).

Among the mowers will be The Turfinator, Mowin’ For Broke, the Lawn Ranger, Haulin’ Grass and Shake, Rattle and Mow.

The telecast will feature the first Mow Cam, which will be mounted on top of a rider’s helmet to bring viewers closer to the “action.”

Says the organization’s top official: “Being on national television takes lawn mower racing to a new level.”

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Ice water: On the subject of wacky sports, the Amateur Athletic Foundation’s SportsLetter reports that the 10th World Championships of Underwater Hockey will be held at San Jose State this summer.

The activity--described as a “breath hold sport played on the bottom of a swimming pool”--will be hosted by the Underwater Society of America.

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Trivia time: Who was the first African American player to win the Heisman Trophy?

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Fuzzy logic: Are today’s athletes less dedicated than their predecessors?

Golfer Fuzzy Zoeller thinks not. His take on the current crop of professional players: “The young guys today play golf, go to their hotel, have an iced tea. It’s a horrible way to live, but my hat’s off to ‘em. The fact that I’ve seen guys stone-cold drunk beat guys stone-cold sober tells you what kind of game golf is.”

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Tiger bait: How big is Tiger Woods? One way to gauge that is to understand how many people want a piece of him.

In addition to the countless interviews, events and meetings Woods agreed to in 1997, his agents turned down 1,545 requests for Woods’ time.

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Bad call: The Italian Open tennis tournament last year banned the use of cellular phones by fans during matches. Understandably miffed was the tournament sponsor, Telcom Italia Mobile, a cellular phone company.

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Charles in charge: Charles Barkley of the Houston Rockets on his team’s uniforms: “This is the worst uniform in the history of civilized sports. We need to donate this uniform to science fiction.”

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SRO: There are 205 people on the Miami Dolphins’ sideline during any given game. Ever wonder who they are?

According to Sport magazine, among the multitudes are: 50 cameramen, four network coordinators, eight cord holders (to prevent coaches from getting tangled up in headset wires), 10 security people and two Cool Zone outdoor cooling system technicians.

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Trivia answer: Ernie Davis of Syracuse, in 1961.

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And finally: FYI to Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson of Michigan: According to experts called to testify at O.J. Simpson’s civil trial, the trophy may be worth as much as $500,000.