From the Start, He Had Nothing More to Lose

The moment Matt Zelen dived into the pool to start the 100-yard butterfly, he knew he had forgotten something. He had not tied his racing suit.

When the St. John’s junior felt his suit sliding off during an invitational meet, he decided to kick it off and finish the race. Zelen would have won by more than two seconds, except that he was disqualified for violating a uniform code.

“It was hilarious, but it’s too bad so many people were there,” Zelen said. “I wish it could have been a nice, quiet dual meet with nobody there. On the other hand, if it would have been the backstroke, I obviously would have stopped.”

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Trivia time: Who is the only father-son combination to win the junior world golf championship in San Diego?

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Reason enough: Knowing that a number of baseball general managers had decided against signing closer Rod Beck from the free-agent market, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune questioned the Chicago Cubs’ Ed Lynch on why he gave Beck a one-year, $3.5-million contract.

“It wasn’t his fastball, it wasn’t his Chicago-style beer belly,” Sullivan wrote. “And it wasn’t his unkempt hair or his Al Hrabosky-like mustache.”

What was it? Lynch answered, “He’s got moxie.”

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Granny knows best: Rookie Danny Fortson of the Denver Nuggets says his most persistent critic is his grandmother, who calls him every day.

“I got her a Direct TV,” Fortson said. “I probably shouldn’t have done that.”

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Think about it: Blackie Sherrod, in the Dallas Morning News, makes an interesting observation:

“How long now has baseball been searching for a commissioner? Five years? David Selznick didn’t take nearly so long to find someone to play Scarlett O’Hara, a much more important role.”

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Never satisfied: After a recent victory by the Miami Heat, Coach Pat Riley wasn’t impressed.

“We are a mistake team,” he said. “We miss free throws, we turn it over and then we hit home runs. Unless we change mentally, we’re not going to beat good teams.”

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It’s about time: When legendary boxing trainer Eddie Futch recently retired, he said it was because he “wanted to spend some time enjoying myself and my family.”

Futch is 86.

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The right stuff: First-year Manager Ray Miller of the Baltimore Orioles has been impressed with outfielder Eric Davis, last season’s comeback player of the year who returned after a bout with cancer to finish the season with the Orioles.

“Eric’s a unique ballplayer in that there’s no dimmer switch with him,” Miller said. “He goes all out at all times.”

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Lucid interlude: The late Casey Stengel, in a rare serious moment, explained his philosophy for living:

“For every dollar paid me in baseball or anything else, I have tried to give a dollar and 25 cents in performance. In other words, I might not win, but an all-out effort would be there.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1944, the Detroit Red Wings defeated the New York Rangers, 15-0, to set an NHL record for consecutive goals.

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Trivia answer: Craig Stadler, in 1970, and son Kevin, last year.

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And finally: Hockey writer Cynthia Lambert of the Detroit News rates the Great Western Forum as the “worst arena” in the NHL, calling it “old, outdated and dirty.”

The Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, home of the Mighty Ducks, comes off much better. Lambert rates it No. 3 behind Montreal’s Molson Centre and Vancouver’s General Motors Place. Of the Pond, she says, “Glitzy, great souvenirs and the thrill of wondering whether mascot Wild Thing’s descent from the rafters on the pulley system will be successful.”