Now Fans Can Second-Guess Directors Too

From the “Why don’t we have toys like this?” department comes this item from England.

Today, television viewers who tune in to watch Arsenal play Manchester United on BSkyB’s multichannel digital service will not only be able to change the angle from which they view the game, they’ll be able to call up instant replays and highlights.

Using the remote control, soccer fans will be able to switch camera angles and follow the game from behind the goal. The pay-per-view network’s year-old digital service--it already has 1.2 million subscribers--will add other angles as the season progresses.

And there’s more.

Fans who tune in late can make use of a “rolling review “ to see whatever goals, saves or red cards they might have missed. A statistics option will provide detailed starting lineups and updated information on each player’s contribution.

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Trivia time: How many members are there in pro football’s Hall of Fame?

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Sourpuss: Mark McGwire isn’t impressed that the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs plan to open next season in Tokyo.

When the Cardinals were invited to do the same thing last spring, St. Louis declined, with McGwire grumbling: “Major league baseball belongs in the United States. The Japanese have Japanese baseball, so there’s no reason for us to go over there.”

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Island fever: What is Cuban President Fidel Castro griping about these days, now that he’s 73 and has been in power for 40 years? Little things, that’s what.

He doesn’t like flashbulbs, for a start, saying he has been photographed with flashes so often that “it is a miracle I am not blind.”

Then there’s the “unbearable” noise made by cellular phones. “Some believe they are very important because they carry one of those little telephones,” he said.

Finally, there are baseballs.

Noting that American visitors continually bring him books on baseball “and a mountain of baseballs to sign,” Castro, a once-promising pitcher, said, “I don’t know why in the United States they really think that I am involved in baseball. . . . The thing that is hardest for me is signing baseballs.”

He probably would sign even fewer if he knew how much a Castro-signed baseball can be sold for in the U.S.

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The short view: San Diego defensive tackle Norman Hand wears something unusual under his Charger shorts.

A pair of Miami Dolphin shorts.

Why?

“It’s just a constant reminder never to go back on the unemployment line,” said Hand, who was cut by the Dolphins in 1997. “Just do what you’re supposed to do. Every time I’m tired and stuff, I raise up my Miami Dolphins shorts and they remind me.”

Well, that’s one way of looking at it.

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Trivia answer: There are 199 pro football Hall of Fame members, of whom 171 are former players.

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And finally: The 2000 PGA Championship will be played at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., and although it’s a year away, the first shot has been taken.

“When you talk about classic golf courses in the country, Valhalla doesn’t come to mind,” Payne Stewart said. “It does have a nice practice range.”