Young Has Him Salivating About Good Old Days

Woody Paige in the Denver Post: “He may not be forever young, but 38-year old Steve Young will be young enough to play for the Denver Broncos the next two seasons.

“And I will write more columns about him. Young is about to join the Broncos . . . No. 8 [Young] could duplicate in Denver the two Super Bowl victories of No. 7 [John Elway].

” . . . Young is the greatest left-handed quarterback to play the game and the best running quarterback [sorry, John].”

Woody, you’ve overlooked a couple of pretty fair southpaw quarterbacks: Kenny “The Snake” Stabler, who led Oakland to a victory over Minnesota in Super Bowl XI, and going further back, another great 49er quarterback, Frankie Albert.

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Trivia time: USC won its first NCAA baseball title in 1948 by beating Yale. Who was Yale’s first baseman?

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An achievable goal: Rick Fox, in the Wall Street Journal, on his growing role as an actor on TV and in the movies: “My goal is to someday be forgotten as a basketball player.”

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Leading candidate: Gary Shelton in the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times: “Rodeo officials expressed sadness when an 1,800-pound bull named Bodacious died.

“Those in charge are uncertain of where to go to replace that much bull, but sources indicate Jerry Glanville has been approached.”

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More bull: You can be sure Kevin Sherrington, in the Dallas Morning News, isn’t writing for animal lovers: “Two bull riders are sitting around, talking business over dinner. The subject is the great and dangerous bull, Bodacious, who died recently of kidney failure.

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First rider: “Boy that Bodacious was one tough bull.” Second rider: “Still is. Pass the A-1.”

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Only way to train: Jim Armstrong in the Denver Post: “David Wells leads the American League with nine wins. So there you have it. Irrefutable proof that today’s beleaguered pitchers need to drink more beer and eat more pizza.”

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High-tech stuff: DNA from an anonymous Australian athlete will be incorporated into the label tags of licensed Olympic clothes to prevent counterfeit merchandise at the Sydney Games.

Ron Taylor, director of DNA Technologies, said the authenticity of each item can be verified using an electronic sensor to scan the DNA in the tags.

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Startling statistic: The Associated Press reports that Tiger Woods earned $2,544 in his first pro start, the Greater Milwaukee Open in 1996. This year, he’s averaging $5,445 for every hole he plays on the PGA Tour.

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Trivia answer: George Bush. Yes that George Bush.

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And finally: “Rumor has it that Larry Brown and the Philadelphia 76ers are thinking about trading Allen Iverson,” says Michael Ventre of MSNBC. “I think they should do it now while his trade value is high after getting that one MVP vote.”