Papers Unite in Joy Over This Victory

How big was Manchester United’s 2-1 victory over Bayern Munich in the final of the European Champions Cup in Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday?

The London tabloid Daily Mail termed it “football’s equivalent of turning water into wine” and judged the game “the most dramatic night ever for British football” as substitutes Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored in injury time.

There was no shortage of hyperbole as another tabloid, the Daily Mirror, went so far as to describe the triumph in a banner front-page headline as “The greatest 2 minutes in the history of sport.”

We presume the Brits are unaware of the “miracle” NFL last-minute comebacks delivered by Joe Montana and John Elway.

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Trivia time: Who holds the NBA playoff record for blocked shots in a game?

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Strange people: Fran Blinebury of the Houston Chronicle, writing on the NFL owners’ indecision in awarding a 32nd franchise:

“You have to keep reminding yourself that this is a weird breed with which we are dealing. F. Scott Fitzgerald said the rich are different from you and me, and the 31 owners of the NFL are different from most of the rich--stubborn, cliquish, bloodless.

“Al Davis, Bud Adams, Bill Bidwill and the like. This is the strangest collection of life forms outside of the bar scene in the original ‘Star Wars.’ ”

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Model guests: The Hotel California near the Champs-Elysees has become a favorite of tennis players competing in the French Open.

Owner Jennifer Boccara likes having all these top players in her hotel. “They’re a lot less demanding than businessmen,” she said.

All rooms in the hotel are taken during the tournament, mostly by players and their entourages. Because she helps advertise the hotel, only Arantxa Sanchez Vicario gets a special price.

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Unpopular guest: Marcelo Rios of Chile was voted the “lemon award” by the media as the tournament’s “most unlikable player” for the fourth year in a row.

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Ready to rumble: NBC’s Conan O’Brien, on Mike Tyson’s release from prison:

“Tyson doesn’t say who he’ll fight next, but experts say it will be either Evander Holyfield or some guy who cuts him off in traffic.”

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Trivia answer: Mark Eaton of Utah against Houston on April 26, 1985, and Hakeem Olajuwon of Houston against the Lakers on April 29, 1990, with 10.

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And finally: New York Yankee pitcher David Cone, on his struggling team: “We’re at a point where it feels good to win a game; last year it felt good to win 10 in a row.”