Hornets Might Wind Up in Bargain Basement

Tom Sorensen of the Charlotte (N.C.) Observer, writing on Hornet owner George Shinn:

“He likes attention, likes to be the good guy, likes to be liked. He recently dyed his hair lemon. If he didn’t have a basketball team, who would know?

“Your complaints will not dislodge the team from his grasp any more than pressure from Charlotte’s business leaders will. The team is not Charlotte’s. It’s Shinn’s. If he chooses not to pay players what the competition does, that’s his prerogative. . . .

“The NBA is Macy’s, is Bloomingdale’s, is Nordstrom. The Hornets are a blue-light special in a dusty discount aisle at the five-and-dime.”

*

Trivia time: What was significant about the 1961 Los Angeles Open at Rancho Park?

*

Tormented town: Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe, lamenting that former Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens is now a Yankee:

“Clemens to the Yankees is yet another dagger in the hearts of masochistic, whiny Red Sox fans. Is there no end to the indignity of being a Boston professional sports fan?

“Clemens to the Yankees is like Bobby Orr to the Montreal Canadiens, or Larry Bird to the Lakers, or . . . [gulp] Bill Parcells to the Jets.”

*

Bull bashing: Rick Telander of the Chicago Sun-Times, on the untalented and foundering Bulls:

“This team is a joke, a group of one-year body doubles standing in until most are released and [General Manager Jerry] Krause gets to use his accrued millions of dollars of salary-cap room next year to try to build an authentic NBA competitor. . . .

“Until then, remember the Bulls’ new battle cry: Thank God for the Clippers.”

*

The good guy: Tom FitzGerald in the San Francisco Chronicle: “As the Olympics-for-sale scandal widens, Juan Antonio Samaranch should step down as head of the IOC, says Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated.

“Reilly says former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley would be a fine replacement because he’s a former Olympic athlete and because ‘he’s as clean as Rush Limbaugh’s fork.’ ”

*

More scandal: Among the enticements given to IOC members were $3,117 in draperies. Said Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post: “When did Martha Stewart become an IOC member?”

*

Cheap Schott: Jim Armstrong in the Denver Post: “So the Cincy Reds are allowing facial hair? Just what we need, Marge Schott with a goatee.”

*

Trivia answer: Arnold Palmer scored a 12 on the par-five ninth hole in the first round.

*

And finally: Former Milwaukee Brave pitcher Lew Burdette in Baseball Weekly, on Henry Aaron:

“Hank made everything look easy. [Willie] Mays did everything with a big flair, but he never made the perfect throws to the cutoff man the way Hank did.

“Hank was just so smooth about everything. He was the best all-around player I ever saw.”