In the End, This Autograph Was All Relative

Learning how couples meet and marry can often make for interesting reading. Few stories, however, are more unusual than that of Cal Ripken Jr. and his wife, as told by Tom Friend in ESPN The Magazine.

In 1984 Cal was approached for his autograph by a middle-aged woman who said, “Please sign it to my daughter Kelly, because my other daughter’s spoken for.” He signed it, “To Kelly--if you look anything like your mother, sorry I missed you.”

About two months later, a young woman approached him and said, “Thanks for being so nice to my mom.” Cal replied, “Oh, are you Kelly?”

She was and now she’s Mrs. Ripken.

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Trivia time: What is the official state sport of Texas--and no, it’s not football?

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Thinking big: Reggie Jackson recently resigned from his $100,000 job as special consultant for the New York Yankees, allegedly because he was confronted by the organization concerning $14,000 of unauthorized business charges. Not so, he says.

“Listen, if I was going to take money from the Yankees, it would be $14 million, not $14,000,” Jackson said.

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All relative: When Samantha Louise Smith was named the No. 1 women’s tennis player in England, tennis expert Bud Collins was not impressed.

“This translates to being the best golfer in Tibet,” he said.

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Happy loser: When Dennis Martinez became baseball’s winningest Latin American pitcher, surpassing Juan Marichal with 244 victories, one of the happiest onlookers was Marvin Benard, a Nicaraguan who plays for the Giants--even though Martinez’ win came in Atlanta’s 7-5 victory over the Giants.

“I wish he had gone somewhere else to win. But I’m happy for him, there’s no use lying about it,” Benard said. “He means an awful lot to the Nicaraguan people. Only six of us have made it to the big leagues and he was the first. They don’t call him ‘El Presidente’ for nothing.”

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The edge: After the NFL Ravens opened their new stadium in downtown Baltimore, Coach Ted Marchibroda said, “Playing here could be worth five points to us. Hopefully, six.”

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New look: Before there were Beanie Babies there were Barbie Dolls.

An original, with Barbie in a striped white and black swimsuit, recently sold for $14,000.

Now comes the latest--Barbie in her own race driver’s uniform, complete with NASCAR-type patches to herald the stock car organization’s 50th anniversary season.

“I hope NASCAR Barbie will inspire more young women to go after their dreams,” Busch Grand National driver Patty Moise said.

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Trivia answer: Rodeo, as designated by the 75th Texas Legislature in 1997.

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And finally: A bizarre invasion by thousands of flying ants forced abandonment of an amateur league cricket match in Worcestershire, England. Entomologist Bob Ellis said the hot weather caused a mating swarm.

“If you are a flying ant, this is the big day of your life,” he said. “The females fly up to 500 feet and the males catch them.”