This Pebble Could Be an Irritant to the BCS

Newsday’s Michael Dobie on undefeated Fresno State: “If the Bulldogs (5-0) finish in the top six of the BCS rankings (the first numbers come out Oct. 22), a spot in one of the four BCS bowls is guaranteed.

“If they don’t finish in the top six but go undefeated, how do you keep them out?

“‘We’re probably a pebble in their shoe right now,’ Fresno State Coach Pat Hill said. ‘If we go 13-0, I think we should be able to play in a big game. Otherwise, what could you do to deserve one?

“‘We’re doing it the way you’re supposed to. We’re rolling up our sleeves and going to work.”’

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Trivia time: Not counting this season, which Division I-A school has the best all-time win-loss percentage in football?

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Simple remedy: Scott Ostler in the San Francisco Chronicle: “Michael Jordan says he is coming back because ‘It’s an itch that still needs to be scratched.’ Wow, I’d hate to think Mike went to all this trouble to fix something that could have been cleared up with a couple spritzes of Desenex.”

* “I know Jordan has a lot of pull with the NBA, but this is impressive: Very quietly, all the league’s baskets have been lowered to nine feet.”

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Rest in peace: Art Thiel of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, after the Mariners lost their opening American League division series game to Cleveland:

“Apparently, the Mariners didn’t just tie the 1906 Cubs [for most regular-season victories with 116]. By playing dead, they became the 1906 Cubs.”

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No we can’t: Jim Armstrong in the Denver Post: “Can you imagine Rickey Henderson, who invented talking in the third person, at the lectern giving his induction speech at Cooperstown?

“‘Today ... today ... today ... ...Rickey considers Rickey the luckiest dude on the face of the earth.”’

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Why us? Ron Rapoport in the Chicago Sun-Times: “Terrorist standard time: The New York Post says Osama bin Laden appears to be wearing a Timex Ironman Triathlon watch. Company officials aren’t exactly thrilled about it.”

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Do you know, Mom? Tom FitzGerald in the San Francisco Chronicle: “Michelle McKim and daughter Daisy, 6, of Davis were listening to a Giants’ game on their car radio when Jon Miller finished describing a swinging Strike 3. Daisy asked, ‘Mom, who’s Mrs. Badly?”’

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Mind games: Brian Murphy of the San Francisco Chronicle, on Tiger Woods’ gamesmanship in his book “How I Play Golf:”

“Two favorites: ‘Really lean on a drive, then react as if you mis-hit it.’ Or, ‘On your way to a drive that you’ve nutted, take a quick look at your opponent’s ball as you walk by, hesitate for a moment as if you think it’s yours, then proceed to your drive.”’

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Trivia answer: Notre Dame, .753, followed by Michigan at .746.

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And finally: Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press on the St. Louis Rams routing the Lions, 35-0: “With [Kurt] Warner--the quickest draw in the Midwest--the Rams against the Lions was the Globetrotters against the Generals.

“The ball moved faster than the eye, receivers sidestepped defenders, they scored as easily as water goes down the drain, and before you could swallow, they were doing it again.”