Dodgers Don’t Look Any Better From a Distance

From his vantage point with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, this is how venerable columnist Furman Bisher sees the Dodgers:

“The Dodgers are a layered organization, owned by an entertainment conglomerate, overseen by a man named Bob Daly, who pulls the strings that make the horses go. Next comes a man named Bob Graziano, who answers to Daly, then Kevin Malone, who answers to both, and Davey Johnson, who answers to either of the above.

“There is unrest here never known in the days of the O’Malleys. One manager kept his job for nearly 25 years. These guys don’t want to win now, they want to win yesterday.

“The Dodgers have the most expensive pitcher in the world, the fattest payroll in the National League, one of the most expensive outfields on the planet and a firm hold on third place in the NL West, which is a pleasure to none of the above.”

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Trivia time: Tiger Woods will start the PGA Championship today as golf’s No. 1 player for the 122nd week. Who holds the record for most weeks as No. 1 since rankings began in 1986?

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Same little cup: Ben Crenshaw says fellow players can’t let themselves be caught up in watching how Tiger Woods is doing, or else they can lose their focus.

“The hole is still 4 1/4 inches for everybody. You’ve got to forget him and just play golf and concentrate,” he said. “That’s an absolute must.”

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Sticky wickets: The International Cricket Council has been guaranteed a minimum of $550 million for seven-year TV rights that include World Cups in 2003 in South Africa and 2007 in the West Indies.

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No Splendid Splinter: Outfielder Carroll Hardy played parts of eight seasons, only one as a regular, in the major leagues, but he holds one remarkable distinction.

Hardy is the only player to pinch-hit for Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer Ted Williams. It happened in 1960 when Williams fouled a pitch off his instep and had to leave the game.

Hardy grounded into a double play.

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Honoring Hank: The Hank Aaron Trail, a seven-mile stretch joining Lake Michigan with existing trails into western Wisconsin, will be dedicated Saturday.

The trail’s markers tell the story of Aaron, baseball’s all-time home run leader. It has been designated as a Millennium Legacy Trail “because of its respectful celebration of the past, its connection to the community and its far-reaching vision for the future.”

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Wall Street: According to Money magazine, the Lakers’ Shaquille O’Neal is a conservative investor.

“I don’t like taking risks,” O’Neal said. “If I have $20 million and I’m making 6%, that’s OK with me. I don’t need to make $20 million into $200 million.”

First, though, you have to get the

$20 million.

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New name: With the LPGA’s du Maurier Classic no longer on the schedule because of Canada’s anti-tobacco regulations, it may reduce the women’s organization to holding only three majors. Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News notes, “Next year, instead of playing for the Grand Slam, Karrie Webb may be confined to the Truncated Triple.”

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Trivia answer: Greg Norman, 331 weeks.

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And finally: Boxing writer Wallace Matthews of the New York Post is one of many who are concerned about Evander Holyfield’s continuing to fight at age 37.

“If Holyfield keeps fighting,” Matthews wrote, “someday he will be Joe Louis in the wheelchair at ringside, Ali with the shakes, Robinson with dementia when he should have been enjoying the twilight of his life.”