Tyson’s Dog Days: Earful of Ridicule, Bucket of Treats

Here’s the umpteenth response to Mike Tyson’s biting Evander Holyfield’s ear last Saturday:

The maker of processed dog treats is shipping a bucket of its best-selling pigs’ ears to Tyson.

“Pigs’ ears have become the hottest dog chew treat of the ‘90s,” said Miles Handy, president and founder of Oink-Oink Inc. “We figured that if Mike Tyson has to bite ears, it would be much better for all concerned if he picked up one of our pigs’ ears instead of sinking his teeth into one of his opponents.”

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Trivia time: Who is the only major league baseball player with three hits in a single inning?

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Finish the job: The Cincinnati Reds are the only major league team without a complete game by its pitching staff this season. By comparison, the Montreal Expos lead the majors with 16.

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Tigermania: The Motorola Western Open begins Thursday at the Cog Hill golf course near Chicago with Tiger Woods in the field. What effect does Woods’ entry have on the tournament?

“Our pre-tournament ticket sales are almost doubled from a year ago,” said tournament director Greg McLaughlin. “The interest is the highest I’ve ever seen in professional golf. Corporations, individuals, everyone wants to get a closer look at Tiger Woods. He’s building a new awareness for the game.”

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Forward looking: The Chicago Sun-Times’ Rick Telander’s take on Tyson:

“Gangsta rap--and its themes of paranoia, hatred, machismo, retribution and chauvinism toward women--could be called a kind of soundtrack for Tyson’s stormy life.”

And that was written before Tyson bit Holyfield’s ear.

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The real champion: Bjorn Borg won Wimbledon five times. Pete Sampras has won it three times. Then there’s Bernard Neal, who has been a Wimbledon champion 32 times.

That’s right, 32 times champion at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

In croquet.

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All in the head: After shooting 69-69 to lead the U.S. Senior Open after 36 holes, Kermit Zarley said, “Golf is a mind game. You make a putt or two, and you think you can make them all.”

Wonder what he thought after shooting an 80 in the third round?

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Looking back: On this day in 1933, Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 1-0, in an 18-inning game. Hubbell allowed six hits and no walks.

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Trivia answer: Outfielder Gene Stephens of the Boston Red Sox had three singles as the Red Sox scored 17 runs in the seventh inning of a 23-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on June 18, 1953, at Fenway Park.

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And finally: The Baltimore Orioles’ Dave Dellucci didn’t seem to mind that he had just been sent back to the minor leagues. All he wanted was to find a TV.

“I want to see if they show the catch,” he said to reporters gathering to hear what he thought about being demoted.

Sure enough, Dellucci’s diving catch against Toronto made the highlights. It was the first time Dellucci had seen it.