Teams Get Shot Down if They Can’t Pull Trigger

This, admittedly, is a little premature, but have you noticed that no professional team here has won a world championship in the ‘90s?

It has never happened before that our pro teams went 0-for-a-decade, not since the Dodgers moved here in 1958, anyway.

I’m wondering if the problem is that our owners and their lieutenants have become too timid. What’s new, my East Coast friends would ask.

Not even they would suggest we need Boss Steinbrenner, but maybe it would make a difference if the other owners were more like Boss Buss.

He has been the exception lately. When the Lakers needed a boost in the standings and the stands, he signed the biggest, best and most expensive one available. Shaquille O’Neal will reward Buss with a championship, perhaps in the ‘90s, if Michael Jordan retires.

The Dodgers once were bolder. They paid the price in 1988 for free agent Kirk Gibson, who repaid them with an MVP season and World Series championship. But since their experiences with Darryl Strawberry and Eric Davis, they have been hesitant to sign superstars other than their own, such as Mike Piazza.

The Disney people are still too new to the sports business for us to know how aggressively they will pursue championships.

The Angels’ trade talks with Oakland for Mark McGwire might provide a clue. If they’re on again, as I’ve read, then I’m encouraged. If they’re off, as I’ve heard from the Angels, then I’m not.

Here’s what the Angels are saying: McGwire might get hurt; we might have to give up too much; we might unsettle our chemistry; we might be smarter to wait until the end of the season and sign him as a free agent.

I can’t argue with any of those reasons.

But here’s what I wish the Angels were saying: McGwire might hit 60 home runs, or at least 55; he might bring an extra 10,000 fans to the ballpark each night; he might win over Orange County from the Dodgers; he might put us over the top in the AL West this season even if we can’t get another pitcher.

It’s attitude.

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Brett Butler’s new book, “Field of Hope,” will soon become a movie. . . .

He says his wife, Eveline, wants to play herself, if Tom Cruise gets Butler’s part. . . .

Who should play Bill Russell? How about Kurt Russell, a former second baseman for the Class-A Portland Mavericks. . . .

The Angels would like to reprise one of Russell’s movies, “Escape from New York.” . . .

In the upcoming movie about the Torre brothers, Paul Sorvino will play Joe. . . .

James Woods doesn’t look like Terry Collins but could play him. . . .

It’s attitude. . . .

Mitch Richmond and Clyde Drexler are filming an episode of UPN’s “The Sentinel” in Vancouver. Drexler becomes a suspect in Richmond’s murder. A booby-trapped scoreboard is involved. . . .

Kurt Rambis and Malik Sealy have cameo roles. . . .

That equals the number of times Sealy will appear on national television next season with the Clippers, which is 20 fewer than the Lakers, Bulls or Knicks. . . .

Given that schedule, the networks are relieved Phil Jackson is returning to the Bulls, meaning MJ will too. . . .

Former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek, who’s playing in the Infiniti Open at UCLA, has a girlfriend who is as famous as he is at home in the Netherlands. . . .

She’s actress Daphne Dekkers, who has a role in the next James Bond movie. . . .

Another Dutchman was on UCLA’s campus recently. Highly recruited 6-foot-10 center Dan Gadzuric, who plays high school basketball in Massachusetts, made an unofficial visit. . . .

Dominguez High’s Tayshaun Prince has emerged as one of the nation’s top five recruits, although some coaches believe he needs more bulk. . . .

Didn’t they say that about Reggie Miller and Jamaal Wilkes? . . .

Vin Scully’s nickname for Tripp Cromer is “The Thin Man.” . . .

Maybe Cromer should eat Froot Loops. He could be the spokesman now that Mickey Tettleton has retired. . . .

Roberto Duran claims he never said “no mas” in that loss to Sugar Ray Leonard. He says Howard Cosell put the words in his mouth. . . .

Boxing promoter Roy Englebrecht is saying no mas to what he calls “customer abuse.” . . .

If any boxer is disqualified for biting or excessive holding on the next Battle in the Ballroom card Friday night at the Irvine Marriott, Englebrecht says fans can have their money back.

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While wondering if Jim Edmonds is as crazy as he plays, I was thinking: It’s a good thing the walls have been padded for him, Andre Agassi should come back when he can stay longer, the Pro Football Hall of Fame will be like every team Mike Haynes played for, better with him included.