They’ll Never Penalize Him for Slow Play

Ken Whitaker played 442 holes Monday at the Benvenue Country Club in Rocky Mount, N.C., from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., breaking the “Guinness Book of World Records” mark of 440 holes in 12 hours.

Several hundred people cheered Whitaker as his golf cart charged up the hill of his tiebreaking green with three minutes remaining.

Whitaker played his final 18 holes in 26 minutes, one of his fastest rounds of the day. He accomplished the record despite a leaky right rear tire, which had to be manually pumped every three holes.

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Trivia time: How many times did Joe DiMaggio strike out during his 56-game hitting streak in 1941?

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Same old Worm: The Chicago Bulls included several incentive clauses in Dennis Rodman’s new contract to motivate him toward better behavior. The contract has a base salary of about $4 million with an additional $4-5 million available if he meets certain criteria.

But some of his teammates aren’t sure money will affect Rodman’s behavior. Said Ron Harper: “Dennis is Dennis, $4 million or no million, he’s the same Dennis.”

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Voodoo excuse: Chicago Bear middle linebacker Bryan Cox has figured out why his team has an 0-7 record:

“I really think we have a hex on us. We’re jinxed. We need to write some letters of apology to people. We need to say: ‘Hey, we’re sorry we treated you wrong.’ We have to get the hex off us.”

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Scarrry: Minor league hockey at its finest: Greenville, S.C., of the East Coast Hockey League announced it will be known as the Grrreenville Grrrowl.

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Barry’s world: From The Good Doctor in Inside Sports:

Q: What kind of offensive formation did Dallas Cowboy Coach Barry Switzer have his team work on during training camp? The shotgun?

A: No, the handgun.

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Attitude problem: Thoroughbred trainer Caesar Dominguez claims his horse is being overlooked by handicappers for Sunday’s $200,000 Norfolk Stakes at Santa Anita. The horse might agree. His name: The Cynic.

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Looking back: On this day in 1985, Jack Clark’s three-run homer with two out in the ninth inning gave the St. Louis Cardinals a 7-5 victory over the Dodgers and the National League championship.

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Looking back again: On this day in 1976, Terry Donahue-coached UCLA routed Washington State, 62-3, at the Coliseum. The Bruins finished the season with a 9-2-1 record, losing to Alabama, 36-6, in the Liberty Bowl.

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Trivia answer: In 223 at-bats, DiMaggio had 91 hits, batted .408 and struck out only seven times.

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And finally: During the Florida Marlin-Atlanta Brave National League playoff series, a Marlin player waved to the home crowd. That inspired Miami Herald columnist Dan Le Batard, to write:

“He was asking the crowd to get louder. Asking South Florida to go higher. Can you, South Florida? Can you?”

Easy, Dan, somebody might think you were rooting for the Marlins.