Photographic Memory Won’t Haunt Johnson

Randy Johnson, the Seattle Mariners’ strikeout king, is an avid photographer.

One of his favorite pictures shows Oakland Athletic Mark McGwire surrounded by yellow police caution ribbon. After McGwire’s tape-measure homer off him last week, Johnson showed the photo to reporters and said, “Doesn’t this picture say it all?”

Another observation: Jose Canseco, a teammate of McGwire, says:

“He’s not human. He doesn’t count. Check his blood. Mac’s an alien from the future who’s come back to show us how to play the game.”

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Trivia time: What Hall of Fame catcher also bowled 300 and made a hole in one?

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Believe it: Ernie Els, the U.S. Open golf champion, is also a big fan of boxing, so he was looking forward to the Mike Tyson-Evander Holyfield fight with a great deal of interest.

“I was so excited because I thought it was going to be just an unbelievable fight,” Els said. “And that’s what it was--unbelievable.”

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One man’s view: New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica says Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen are “the most versatile one-two combination in the history of the game, and that includes Magic [Johnson] and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

“For years, we have heard about the greatness of John Stockton and Karl Malone in Utah. And they have had a remarkable run. They got into the NBA finals against Jordan and Pippen and looked like an opening act. In basketball, at this time, [Jordan and Pippen] are Ruth and Gehrig.”

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No hard feelings: William Walsh, a Menlo Park investment manager, who was cut from Fordham’s freshman football squad in 1947 by Vince Lombardi, recently donated $500,000 to the school for construction of an athletic training center.

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Future Dodger? Outfielder Ntema Ndungidi, 18, believed to be the first player born in the Congo signed by a major league team, has agreed to terms with the Baltimore Orioles.

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Looking back: On this day in 1914, the Harvard eight won the Grand Challenge Cup to become the first American crew to win the top event in the Henley Royal Regatta in England.

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Young at heart: At 94, Paul Sullivan is running the Pittsburgh Parks tennis championships for the 65th time in the last 66 years. Sullivan, an attorney who still goes to his office every morning, has been the tournament director every year but 1946 when he was in the Navy.

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By the numbers: This year’s Wimbledon men’s winner gets $697,200, making it the richest of tennis’ four Grand Slam tournaments. The U.S. Open winner gets $650,000. The women’s winner at Wimbledon gets $627,480.

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Trivia answer: Gabby Hartnett of the Chicago Cubs.

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And finally: After first-round draft pick J.D. Drew was offered a $2.1-million contract by the Philadelphia Phillies, his agent, Scott Boras, called it “insulting.” Drew, an outfielder at Florida State, went even further:

“I don’t want to end up in a Phillies uniform getting half my market value when there are other teams that were willing to pay that. It would be hard to go out and play for a club that tried to shove it down my throat.”