It Would Be a Stretch for Daly to Wear Jacket

Before the Masters tournament started Thursday, Shaun Powell of Newsday was rooting for John Daly: “The man has suffered enough. And Tiger Woods has won enough. Come Sunday, in fact, there’s only two ways this tournament can have a special ending: If Tiger’s wearing a green jacket or Daly’s squeezing into one. Since Jack Nicklaus isn’t playing, no other scenario really comes close.

“No, please let it be Daly. Let us suckers for a comeback story get our wish. Let him reach the greens with one mighty grip and a rip. And if he can’t win, let the Masters give him another excuse to live responsibly so the game can appreciate his gift once again.”

For Powell to get his wish, Daly will have to play better than he did in the first round, when he shot a two-over-par 74, leaving him seven strokes behind leader Davis Love III.

Trivia time: Who holds the record for consecutive top-10 finishes in the Masters?

Wily veteran: Scott Ostler in the San Francisco Chronicle on 45-year-old Dodger reliever Jesse Orosco, who has had some success against Barry Bonds:

“Orosco is so old, he remembers pitching against Bobby Bonds. He pitched against Willie McCovey, for God’s sake.

“He’s so old that he still honors, pretty much, baseball’s ancient rule against fraternizing with the enemy. Orosco says he has chatted a bit with Bonds over the years, but for the most part keeps his distance.

“‘It’s not that I’m trying to be unfriendly,’ Orosco said, ‘but I’ve got a job to do.’”

Easy decision: Forbes magazine has reported that major league baseball teams had an operating profit of $75 million rather than the $232-million operating loss that Commissioner Bud Selig complained about to Congress.

“If you look at baseball’s history in this area,” says Norman Chad on America Online, “let’s just say if I had to choose between putting my trust with the Gambino crime family or a group of MLB team owners, I’d be eating fagiole every night of the week.”

Why, of course: While erecting the equestrian site for the 2004 Olympics, workers in Greece unearthed the ruins of an ancient brothel. Archeologist Michalis Sklavos says the bordello was part of the temple devoted to the love goddess Aphrodite.

“The priestesses offered extra love to the visitors,” he said.

Comment from Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: “Which, if tradition holds, included the IOC bid committee.”

Sophisticated kid: Joe Glass, director of media relations for the Orlando Magic, told the Orlando Sentinel he took his 4-year-old son to his first Little League practice. On the way, Max Glass asked his dad, “Will there be media there?”

Outraged: Bill Scheft in ESPN the Magazine: “Steve Spurrier is furious. He saw the Redskins’ schedule--no Vanderbilt.”

Trivia answer: Ben Hogan with 14.

And finally: Longtime Milwaukee Brewer broadcaster Bob Uecker is still in love with the game. In an interview with Ron Rapoport of the Chicago Sun-Times, he said: “Sometimes I sit in the booth when I’m not working and just watch what’s going on in the stands. It becomes a part of your life. When the season starts, that’s where you should be. At the ballpark.”