All the Fans Could Do Was to Grin and Bear It

Brian Schmitz in the Orlando Sentinel: “The [Vancouver] Grizzlies’ move to Memphis for next season is all but a done deal, although you have to wonder whether Huntsville or Keokuk are next to get franchises.

“Guess anybody with cable and running water is now a candidate, which might explain why the arena-impaired Magic have a roving eye on Omaha.

“Of course, the Grizzlies didn’t move because they didn’t get a new arena. Their basketball arena was fine. It was the basketball played in it that was the problem.”

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Trivia time: Who are the two pitchers, one in the National League and one in the American League, who threw no-hitters on the same day in 1990?

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Sun strokes: The Shores Golf Club in the Dallas-Fort Worth area has “Beat the Heat” green fees. The hotter the temperature the less it costs to play. For example, at 101 degrees or above, the cost is only for the cart. The cooler it gets, the more it costs.

Sounds like a good deal. However, only mad dogs and Texans would go out in the midday sun.

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Dangerous game: Senior golfer Dana Quigley’s wife, Angie, was struck in the neck by a wild shot from Gene Littler as she was following her husband in the FleetBoston Classic.

“I told Gene he was off our Christmas list,” Dana Quigley said.

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Golf nut: Hubert Mizell in the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times: “Did you hear about Chris Crabtree, an Indiana amateur who played 504 holes in one day, the equivalent of 28 rounds, averaging 34.9 minutes per 18 holes and 74.5 strokes?

“Hey, if I played 504 holes before dark, I’d record just one stroke; the one that left me comatose and toes-up.”

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Shaky investment: Scott Ostler in the San Francisco Chronicle: “Another reason to root for Barry Bonds to hit 71 [home runs]: Collector Todd McFarlane’s $2.7-million ball, the [Mark] McGwire No. 70, would be worth $2.70.

“McFarlane’s response: ‘If he does it, I hope 71 goes in McCovey Cove and some whale swallows it.’ ”

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No hope: Oakland reliever Mike Magnante talking about the Athletics’ pursuit of first-place Seattle in the American League West: ‘Realistically, we know to get back into the race with them some extraordinary things have to happen--like the earth stops rotating.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1912, New York Giant left-hander Rube Marquard earned his record 19th consecutive victory of the season and 21st in a row over two years by stopping Brooklyn, 2-1.

The Giants finished first in the National League by 10 games but lost to the Boston Red Sox in the World Series in seven games.

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Trivia answer: Fernando Valenzuela of the Dodgers and Dave Stewart of the Oakland A’s.

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And finally: Paula Routon had two holes-in-one during Thursday’s semifinals of a women’s match-play tournament in Wichita, Kan. She beat astronomical odds.

The March 2000 issue of Golf Digest reported the odds of scoring two aces in the same round at 67 million to 1.