Hey Guys, It’s Soccer, Not Sock ‘im

If you are lucky enough to be going to the World Cup in France this summer, it might be a good idea to keep quiet about it.

Two soccer linesmen, Shai Ossidon and Reuven Gino, came to blows over the issue--in a cab, no less--on their way to officiate a game in Israel.

And who broke up the brawl?

The referee, Eyal Tzur, who also happened to be in the cab.

“I am going to officiate in Europe and do duty-free shopping in London while you will make do with [games in] Ashdod and Ashkelon,” said Ossidon to Gino, according the Ha’aretz newspaper.

Sounds like a red card on the spot.

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Fisticuffs, Part II: So, what happened after those wild and crazy Washington Wizards--Tracy Murray and Rod Strickland--recently sparred over a Los Angeles woman?

The Sporting News pointed out that Strickland sagged, making six of 24 shots in the first two games after the fight.

Murray made six of 18 and scored 22 points in the next two games.

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Trivia time: What member of the Pacific 10 Conference has never played in the Rose Bowl game?

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Three-ring circus: Enough was enough for former NFL quarterback-broadcaster-proud parent Archie Manning.

Manning, who has been a radio analyst since 1985, said he is leaving the broadcast booth to follow the professional career of his son, Peyton.

Archie Manning had been taking in his younger son Eli’s high school football games in New Orleans on Friday nights, watching Tennessee and Peyton play on Saturdays and then commentating on Saint games on Sundays.

“There were an awful lot of early morning flights,” Archie Manning said. “I had a lot of fun doing games on radio. Heck, someday I may decide I want to do it again.”

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Lou speaks: Back before Lou Holtz’s name was bandied about in connection with the USC coaching job, he was asked about the bowl alliance during a CBS conference call.

“UCLA should definitely be in the alliance as the No. 5 [AP poll] team in the country,” Holtz said. “Boy, it’s going to be a little hard on them in recruiting. I guarantee everybody goes in and recruits against UCLA. They are going to say, ‘Son, you finished fifth in the country and you couldn’t even get in an alliance bowl.’ It’s not right for the players and the school.”

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Give up? Outside magazine recently listed five athletic feats that are untouchable--physically impossible, the magazine said. The five?

1. A sub-two-hour marathon.

2. Swimming the English channel five times consecutively.

3. Surfing a 40-foot wave (without being towed in by a jet ski).

4. Cycling 60 kilometers (37.3 miles) in an hour.

5. Running the 100-meter dash in under 9.5 seconds.

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Trivia answer: Arizona.

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And finally: Said Patrick Ewing in a statement Tuesday after leaving the hospital where he had wrist surgery, “I will be a Knick until the day I die.”