Great Way to Putter Around

Joe Posanski, in the Kansas City Star, on the joy of playing on the Senior PGA Tour:

“Imagine this. You turn 50, and then you travel around the country and play golf on some of the most beautiful private courses in America.

“You get a nice rental car. You get a golf cart. All the flags are in the middle of the greens. The money is beyond imagination. The drinks are free. You stay young forever.

“And when your round ends, you get to tell everybody how it went. Everybody actually listens.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the major league record for home runs by a shortstop?

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Ear update: Evander Holyfield was asked at a press conference if the half-inch or so of missing flesh at the top of his ear--the result of the infamous bite by Mike Tyson--will be replaced by plastic surgery.

“Naw, I’m not gonna get it fixed,” Holyfield replied, then added in a softer voice, “I don’t know where they’d take the skin from.”

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Paul Bunyan clone: How strong is Mark McGwire, who is now hitting home runs into outer space for the St. Louis Cardinals?

Florida Marlin Coach Rich Donnelly had this observation: “He came over to our weight room and was throwing around 200-pound barbells like they were Styrofoam. He could take a couple of batboys and bench-press them.”

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Add McGwire: From St. Louis Cardinal pitcher Dennis Eckersley, who was also a teammate of McGwire’s in Oakland: “These stadiums are like Little League parks to him.”

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Shocking: Has there ever been a time when the UCLA and USC football teams were combined 27-point underdogs at home on the same day?

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Good old days: Here are some additions to stupendous college football afternoons in Los Angeles:

On Dec. 3, 1938, USC upset unbeaten and top-ranked Notre Dame, 13-0, at the Coliseum before 97,146.

On Dec. 9, 1939, USC and UCLA played to a 0-0 tie before 103,303 at the Coliseum. Both teams finished unbeaten that season, but the Trojans earned the Rose Bowl bid on the basis of fewer ties than the Bruins, two to four.

Jackie Robinson and Kenny Washington were notable running backs for UCLA that day.

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Trivia answer: Ernie Banks, with 47 in 1958. Banks also ranks second, third and fourth on the all-time list with 45, 44 and 41 home runs.

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And finally: Bill Parcells, responding to TV analyst Sam Wyche’s prediction that the New York Jets will win the AFC East title this season:

“I think Sam ought to lie on a couch and talk to somebody quietly, maybe with a little Mantovani playing in the background.”