This Might Be Called a Good Debate Spoiled

Gary Shelton of the St. Petersburg Times, writing on Casey Martin and the Supreme Court decision:

“Can you imagine it? In the capital city of the most powerful nation on earth, the nine men and women charged with making laws and divining justice spent four months talking about . . . golf.

“The same minds that months ago debated who should be president of this country were talking about . . . carts.

“What’s next? Do Sandra Day O’Connor and Clarence Thomas debate the balk rule? Does William Rehnquist argue pass interference with Ruth Bader Ginsburg? Do David Souter and Stephen Breyer discuss icing?”

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More on Martin: Comedy writer Alan Ray in the San Francisco Chronicle: “The Supreme Court says [he] can use a golf cart on the tour. However, there is one safety consideration. John Daly can’t drive it.”

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Trivia time: Who hit the most home runs in a World Series?

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Party time blues: The soccer club Bayern Munich had to play an exhibition game against the New York/New Jersey MetroStars of Major League Soccer only three days after winning the European Champions League.

Bayern lost, 2-0, in part because of too much indulgence.

“It’s been pretty difficult getting up in the morning,” Bayern forward Alexander Zickler said. “We’ll have a Breathalyzer, and anybody with a [blood-alcohol] level below 0.2 gets to play.”

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He has a point: The executive director of the NBA players’ union, Billy Hunter, is annoyed when he hears that high school kids shouldn’t jump into pro basketball.

“At 18, you can get married, go to the military and be sentenced to death,” he said. “You mean you shouldn’t be allowed to play basketball?”

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Mr. Sunshine: Chicago White Sox shortstop Royce Clayton has been in a hitting slump and boo birds are venting their displeasure. But Clayton still maintains a positive attitude.

“Bring it on,” he told the Chicago Sun-Times. “I know this sounds weird, but I am enjoying this struggle because it will make me stronger. When things are going well, when do you learn?”

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Priorities: New Jersey Devil defenseman Brian Rafalski, on his distaste for free agency:

“Money is great, but championships are even better. You have your whole life to make money, but how many chances do you have to win championships?”

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Looking back: On this day in 1932, Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees hit four home runs in a game at Philadelphia and John McGraw retired after 31 seasons as manager of the New York Giants.

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Trivia answer: Reggie Jackson of the Yankees. He hit five against the Dodgers in the 1977 World Series.

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And finally: Hall of Fame Coach Jack Ramsay, an NBA game analyst for ESPN radio, on the Lakers:

“The layoff could be damaging to [them] because they could lose their edge. That much time off is a long time for NBA players, who are accustomed to playing every other day.

“No matter how hard the Lakers, or any other team, practice, teams can’t duplicate game experience on the practice floor.”