Streaking Nelson Just Couldn’t Help Himself

Bill Lyon of the Philadelphia Inquirer calls Byron Nelson’s 11 consecutive professional golf victories in 1945 “the streak of streaks.”

Lyon writes that after Nelson’s streak had reached nine, he was about to burst from the pressure.

“So just before he left their hotel room for his first round at the next stop in Chicago, he confessed to his wife Louise, ‘I just hope I blow up today. I’d like to get this over with.’

“When he returned to the room, she asked, ‘Well, did you blow up?’

“ ‘Yes,’ he said grinning. ‘Sure did. Shot 66.’ ”

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Trivia time: Who holds the NBA record for defensive rebounds in a game?

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Gum control: From Track & Field News: “Putting his money where his mouthwash is, so to speak, banned German distance runner Dieter Baumann has offered a reward of some $52,000 to help catch the unknown culprit he claims spiked his toothpaste with nandrolone.”

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Go for it: Sergio Garcia, the 20-year-old Spanish golfing sensation, is playing his first full season on the PGA Tour--and he has an incentive other than golf.

“I just love American girls,” he told Golf World magazine. “That is a big attraction for me over here. The girls have class and are incredibly beautiful.”

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Strange appeal: The Boston Globe’s Ron Borges, comparing heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis to Mike Tyson:

“Tyson is a human train wreck, Lewis a chess player. Tyson is an accident waiting to happen, while Lewis is a debate waiting to be quietly engaged in. In boxing, train wrecks sell better than champions.”

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Hold the salt, please: Tom FitzGerald in the San Francisco Chronicle: “The Dallas Mavericks finally signed Dennis Rodman. To those skeptical of the decision to sign a 38-year-old has-been, Alan Ray says: ‘The Worm knows how to get in there and mix it up.’ Yes, he can really make a great margarita.”

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Slobs are out: Steve Rosenbloom in the Chicago Tribune: “If the Wizards can’t be like Mike, they’ll at least dress like him. After Jordan brought in a new coach, Darrell Walker, he set down a dress code. True thing.

“Players must wear a sport coat, dress shirt and slacks. But no sneakers for the sneaker salesman’s team.”

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Trivia answer: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Lakers, 29, against the Detroit Pistons on Dec. 14, 1975.

However, the NBA didn’t keep separate offensive and defensive rebounding statistics before the 1973-74 season.

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And finally: Peter Vecsey, writing in the New York Post on a trade he says won’t happen: “So the Knicks are going to swap Patrick Ewing for Juwan Howard? Oh really? I wasn’t sure they needed another statue in Washington.

“It’s a close call which one has more mobility, the Lincoln Memorial or Ewing.”