They Could Hit It With Best of Them

John B Holway, writing in the Washington Post on Josh Gibson, the legendary slugger of the Negro Leagues, who played in only 40 to 50 league games a year:

” . . . Josh and his chief rival, Mule Suttles, either or both, would probably have smashed Ruth’s 60-homer record between 1936 and 1939, only a decade after it was set.

“The average major league home run champ has come to bat 550 times. On that basis, Gibson would have hit 68 homers in 1936, 61 in 1938, 35 in 1938 and 62 in 1939 (Suttles, who played in a smaller park, Newark, would have hit 55, 70, 80 and 46).”

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Trivia time: Which NCAA Division I-AA single-season record does Minnesota Viking Randy Moss hold?

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Awesome: Minnesota offensive coordinator Brian Billick, on Moss, the Vikings’ outstanding rookie wide receiver: “I’ve never been around an athlete like [Moss]. He can make plays that seem impossible.”

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Eastern error: Arizona’s Ortege Jenkins, whose goal-line, touchdown flip--a national TV highlight--beat Washington last Saturday, has been besieged by interview requests the past week.

“Man, the New York Times, that kind of blew me away,” he told the Arizona Daily Star. “But he told me to call back without giving me an 800 number. I can’t mess with him like that.”

So, no 800 number, no interview.

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Good manners: John Stiegerwald in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “Why hasn’t Barry Sanders’ habit of not spiking the ball caught on? Sanders sees no reason to spike the ball or work any creative choreography into his touchdowns because it’s rare that anything he could come up with could top his touchdown run.

“Imagine how annoying Michael Jordan could have been if he had decided to rub his talent in his opponent’s face after every one of his spectacular plays.”

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Close to greatness: “I’ll probably be like one of those old guys on the History Channel,” said third baseman Gary Gaetti, who signed with the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 19 after having been released by the St. Louis Cardinals.

“They’ll say he was Mark McGwire’s and Sammy Sosa’s teammate, the only guy who played with both of them the year they broke the record. And I’ll say, ‘Yep, I told them how to do that.’ ”

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Come again? From San Diego Padre announcer Jerry Coleman: “Kevin Brown fires, and the bunt is taken by the pitcher for a strike.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1919, UCLA lost to Hollywood High, 19-6. It was only the Bruins’ second game of their inaugural football season.

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Trivia answer: Most games catching a touchdown pass, 11, which Moss set while playing for Marshall in 1996.

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And finally: PGA Tour pro Jeff Sluman, who stands only 5 feet 7 and weighs 140 pounds, on why he avoided bodybuilding in search of more distance:

“I was afraid that maybe I’d hit my putter an extra 10 yards, and that wouldn’t be good.”