Rivals Just Can’t Admit They Are the Same

Bragging rights were on the line again in Minnesota on Saturday, and lately it has been a one-way dialogue for the suffering fans at St. Thomas. So, would the 100th anniversary of the first football game between St. John’s and St. Thomas turn out differently on Saturday?

The Tommies left their campus in St. Paul and gave it a good go at Collegeville. The Johnnies prevailed, 27-21. In the first encounter, in 1901, St. John’s won too, although the final score remains in debate.

A century later, St. John’s is coached by the legendary John Gagliardi, who has led it to three national titles and is one of the main characters in a new book, “The Sweet Season,” by Austin Murphy of Sports Illustrated.

Murphy spent the 2000 season following St. John’s and moved to Collegeville--leaving, wisely, before it got really, really cold. He delved into the St. John’s-St. Thomas series, which he called one of “the country’s most delightfully intense little rivalries.”

“If you want to play quality football at a private Catholic university in Minnesota, you go to one or the other,” Murphy wrote. “So even though the schools have more than they care to admit in common, even though students at one often seriously considered going to the other and have numerous friends at the other, they choose--this week in particular--to dwell on the differences.”

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Trivia time: Who was the first pick in the 1992 amateur baseball draft?

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Corner kicks: Rock star Rod Stewart has both sides of the Atlantic covered. He plays soccer for an amateur team in Los Angeles. And, on his home pitch, he is on a 35-and-over side in England. He probably gets the calls, after all, the games take place at his place.

He told GQ magazine that his sports dream scenario has never changed: “Scoring a goal for Scotland against England at Hamden Park.”

*Add GQ: The October issue is devoted to sports, sports and more sports. On the final page, of the 352-page issue, is the most typical of sports lists.

The topic: “15 Things We Wish Dennis Miller Would Say.” Among the selections:

3. “I gotta admit: That Hank Williams Jr. opener scares the hell outta me.”

7. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while Al, and you know what? I don’t believe in miracles.”

9. “This game’s a real stinker, and it ain’t even halftime. Regale us if you will, Albeeno, with a saucy Dan Dierdorf anecdote.”

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Dream believer: Newsday’s Jon Heyman on the New York Mets, Manager Bobby Valentine and their fading hopes after providing a stirring September run:

“Nobody thought they’d get this far. Except maybe Valentine, who kept shouting all summer to anyone who would listen that they still had a shot in the face of all logic and a 131/2-game deficit, same as the 1951 Giants made up on the Dodgers of Valentine’s father-in-law, Ralph Branca.

“Everyone thought Valentine was nuts, and probably still [does].”

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Trivia answer: Phil Nevin, of Cal State Fullerton, was drafted by Houston.

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And finally: Leading up to their middleweight championship unification fight, Bernard Hopkins, told that Felix Trinidad is seven years younger than he, dismissed it, saying: “Yeah and seven years dumber too.”