Golfers Don’t Know Meaning of Word Quit

Bernie Lincicome of the Chicago Tribune writes that the great thing about golf is that golfers never go away, unlike athletes in other sports who retire.

“They just rent carts and move the tees up. Arnold Palmer is still there to be seen, and Jack Nicklaus will be back.

“Julius Boros was an avid fisherman who carried a fishing rod in his golf bag in case of delays near a water hazard.

“He was asked when he was going to retire. ‘To what?’ he asked.”

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Trivia time: Eight times the Kentucky Derby has been won by a nose. Which was the last horse to lose by a nose, and who was the trainer?

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Little big man: The Pittsburgh Steelers believe they have a nugget in their third-round draft choice, running back Amos Zereoue of West Virginia.

He stands 5 feet 7, weighs 202 pounds, bench-presses close to 500 pounds and has a vertical jump of almost 40 inches. And he reportedly ran a 4.37-second 40 for pro scouts.

Forty-yard dash times are always suspect, but he apparently has the physical tools.

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Overdue: Phoenix Sun Coach Danny Ainge after Utah’s Karl Malone messed up Joe Kleine’s face with a wicked elbow:

“Joe’s getting plastic surgery right now. It’s all right. He needed a little plastic surgery.”

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Reservations: Boston Celtic backup center Dwayne Schintzius on Philadelphia’s 18-year veteran, Rick Mahorn:

“I want to play that long, but I don’t want my butt to get that big.”

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Right response: Golfer John Daly, a recovering alcoholic, told Eddie Sefko of the Houston Chronicle what he now endures while on the course.

“Your hear things--and a lot of them are not very good things,” he said. “Especially from people in the gallery.

“They’ll say things. But I always ask people what their favorite food is. If they say steak, I’ll tell them to picture not being able to eat another steak the rest of your life.”

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Easy stroke: Mike Piazza of the New York Mets on San Diego Padre Tony Gwynn, who is approaching 3,000 hits:

“He’s one guy I’ve run out of words to describe. I think sometimes he’s playing tennis while the rest of us are playing baseball with the way he serves balls for hits.”

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Trivia answer: Cavonnier, in 1996. He was trained by Bob Baffert.

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And finally: “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno will be leading the field May 30 at the Indianapolis 500, driving the pace car.

First, though, he took some instruction from Parnelli Jones, 1963 Indy 500 winner.

Jones told Leno not to go too fast, as his predecessor Johnny Carson once had in the pace car, nearly hitting the wall, until Jones managed to grab the wheel and steer the car through the turn.