Texas Fans Have Strong Constitutions

Texas Motor Speedway has decided not to take advantage of a new law allowing it to sell beer. That’s because fans are used to bringing their own and might revolt.

With crowds up to 200,000 for some events, the track could lose about $3 million a year.

However, Speedway General Manager Eddie Gossage said, “Race fans are unique. They like to carry their coolers to the races. Many believe it’s almost their constitutional right.”

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Trivia time: On this day in 1968, Chicago Bear owner George Halas retired as coach for the fourth and last time. How old was he?

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True champion: Bodacious, the “World’s Most Dangerous Bull,” has died. The 1,800-pound celebrity, who tossed 129 of the 135 cowboys who rode him in competition, died of kidney failure. He was 12 years old, about 60 in human age. The bull retired from competition in 1995 and went on to a promotional career. He had his own agent, was featured in GQ and Penthouse magazines, profiled on television and appeared in advertising for Bud Light.

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Laimbeer type: From Reggie Miller’s Web site: “I love being the enemy. There aren’t many guys like me. I can think of another guy who everybody hated and that’s Bill Laimbeer [of the Detroit Pistons].

“He did all the dirty stuff. Isiah [Thomas] got all the credit because he has the best smile, but Laimbeer was just as important a piece to that championship team.”

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More Thomas: He was recently elected to the Hall of Fame, but he wasn’t the most popular player in the NBA.

After Thomas suffered a gash when he was elbowed by Utah’s Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, then with the Philadelphia 76ers, said: “Nobody wants to put 40 stitches in a guy’s head--not even Isiah’s.”

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You’re kidding: Jeff Gordon in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “What are the odds that Kurt Warner’s appendix someday will be auctioned off for big bucks on eBay?”

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Still a landslide: Former Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne, running for Congress, won his primary with 71% of the vote.

Wrote Rich Eisen in ESPN The Magazine: “He would have won with 75%, but he took a knee at the voting booth.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1984, Rick Mears won the Indianapolis 500 by the largest margin in 17 years--two laps--with a record-setting 163.612 mph.

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Trivia answer: Halas was 73.

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And finally: Ron Rapoport in the Chicago Sun-Times: “If Frank Robinson really wanted to punish all those Dodgers who went into the stands last week, he’d see that their suspensions included the games of Aug. 25-27, which is the next time they play at Wrigley Field.

“Of course, even without 16 players they’d still beat the Cubs.”