Impostor Took One for the Team
Who was that impostor in Manchester United’s official team photograph?
A man wearing the English soccer club’s uniform--and bearing a resemblance to former United star Eric Cantona--managed to sneak into the photo before Wednesday night’s Champions Cup game against Bayern Munich in Germany.
The photo, splashed across the front page of newspapers in London, shows the man standing proudly at the end of the second row alongside the United players.
Most of the players are staring straight ahead at the camera, seemingly oblivious to the stunt. Only captain Roy Keane appears to notice, looking over at the man from the other end of the second row.
It was unclear how the man managed to evade security, slip into the official uniform and stroll onto Bayern Munich’s ground.
There were two small giveaways for spotting the impostor: He was wearing a watch, and the small logo on his shorts was yellow and red rather than blue and white.
The man was later identified in British news reports as Carl Power of Manchester.
A British magazine claimed responsibility for helping the man pull off the stunt, saying he used a team pass to get near the pitch, had no trouble getting onto the field for the photo and later went to the edge of the stands to watch the game.
*
Trivia time: Who are the six major leaguers with more than 650 doubles?
*
Price is right: Not only was Jerry Stackhouse of the Detriot Pistons the second-leading scorer in the NBA, he was also the league’s best bargain.
An analysis of NBA players and their salaries by Bloomberg News showed the Pistons get more for their money--29.8 points a game, 5.1 assists, 3.9 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 0.68 blocks--than any other team in the league with a similar player. Stackhouse, a two-time all-star, graded higher than such better-paid players as Allen Iverson, Shaquille O’Neal and Chris Webber.
To compute his overall value, Stackhouse’s ranking in each statistical category was added together. Among the two highest-paid players on each team, Stackhouse is second in scoring, 34th in rebounding, 10th in assists, 17th in steals and 24th in blocked shots, giving him an overall total of 87. That number placed him ninth.
Stackhouse’s $5.31-million salary ranked 40th among the highest-paid players, giving him a rating of plus-31. It was the largest differential between salary and performance in the league.
“Of course I’m underpaid,” said Stackhouse, whose seven- year, $39-million contract expires after the 2004-05 season.
*
Act like a man: New York Giant cornerback Jason Sehorn is taking a little career advice--not from his coach, but from his fiancee.
Angie Harmon, co-star of the NBC drama “Law & Order,” had some encouraging words for Sehorn before he made a guest appearance on “Third Watch.” The episode, in which Sehorn played an arrogant, athletic firefighter, aired Monday night.
“I just told him to be yourself and don’t be afraid of anything,” Harmon said. “I was excited for him. He’d been wanting to do it for quite some time.”
The 28-year-old actress is preparing for her June wedding.
*
Trivia answer: Tris Speaker (792), Pete Rose (746), Stan Musial (725), Ty Cobb (724), George Brett (665) and Napoleon Lajoie (657).
*
And finally: Bobby Valentine, manager of the New York Mets, expressed surprise when he was told former Met Bobby Bonilla pitched in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 17-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday. “Obviously, I wasn’t using him in the right situations,” said Valentine, who didn’t always see eye to eye with Bonilla.
