Company He Keeps Kept Him Out of Place

Being a member of the Green Bay Packers would normally get you first-class treatment in Wisconsin. In Ed Kehl’s case, his status as a Packer got him turned away from renting an apartment.

When Kehl recently tried to secure an apartment in nearby De Pere in time for training camp, he found what he thought was a nice one at a good price.

But when Kehl was ready to sign the lease agreement at Nicolet Gardens, the apartment manager told him that the building owner, Hillcrest Properties LTD, had rejected his application.

“She said, ‘I can’t rent to you because you’re a Packer,’ ” Kehl said.

Apparently, an unidentified player had trashed an apartment there in the past.

No word if Dennis Rodman once had considered a career change.

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Trivia time: Who was the last Brooklyn Dodger active in the major leagues?

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Rivalry born? Bernie Lincicome of the Rocky Mountain News, on the hope that David Duval finally can be the worthy rival Tiger Woods seems to need:

“Maybe Duval can be as Sam Snead was to Ben Hogan, or Lee Trevino to [Jack] Nicklaus. And it is at these places, not television-concocted paydays, that any rivalry must be fertilized and encouraged. Duval finally might be realizing as much. . . .

“Now comes the hard part. We expect Duval to do it again.”

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King’s ransom: Not everyone in Sacramento has been quick to welcome back Chris Webber.

“C-Webb just played us because, after finding out that he couldn’t get his money in Detroit and Indiana, he knew he’d get it here in Sacramento,” King fan Andrew Washington told the Sacramento Bee. “. . . He’s just lucky that Sacramento isn’t a big city like New York or Los Angeles. Fans there wouldn’t care if he left, because they wouldn’t want a player who doesn’t respect the city he plays in.”

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Rocket power: Joel Sherman of the New York Post is glad the New York Yankees put their faith in Roger Clemens instead of David Wells three years ago:

“The theory when the Yanks exchanged Clemens for Wells in spring 1999, and [owner George] Steinbrenner promised the extension as a bribe to get Clemens to come, was that Clemens was the better long-term risk. With the slovenly Wells out for the season and maybe his career after back surgery, the workout hound Clemens is honoring that theory.”

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Labor of love: An Indianapolis Viper quarterback is sidelined for the season: She’s pregnant.

Lakeia Witherspoon, 26, who’s expecting her fourth child, had hoped to lead the Vipers when they open their inaugural season in the Women’s American Football League in October.

“I’m on hold now,” she said. “I was really looking forward to it. I’m a good ball thrower.”

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Trivia answer: Bob Aspromonte, who played for Brooklyn in 1956 and retired after the 1971 season with the New York Mets.

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And finally: Brazil’s shocking 2-0 loss to Honduras in the Copa America soccer tournament in Colombia inspired this front-page analysis in a Brazilian newspaper:

“Incapable of organizing calendars and tournaments, incapable of planning, incapable of paying wages on time and keeping its star players, Brazilian soccer wears--today more than ever--the incompetent and retarded face of its officials.”