He Strikes Back at Labor Talk in WNBA

Norman Chad of America Online wonders if WNBA players decide to strike, will anyone care?

“In its start-up days, the WNBA’s slogan was, ‘We Got Next.’ These days, the players’ slogan is, ‘We Got Next to Nothing.’ I kind of think the first slogan is catchier.

“Ah, but in yet another sign of the times--gosh, wouldn’t it be nice if we could finally have a sign of some other times, say, like the 1890s--WNBA players are thinking about a strike.

“Who do these women think they are, men?”

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Trivia time: Who was the last Dodger to lead the National League in stolen bases?

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Chump change: Jon Heyman of Newsday, on baseball’s labor negotiations: “Once you sort through the overwrought rhetoric and all the egos fatter than their wallets, then strip this down to the sides’ essential difference (yes, the monetary discrepancy), you’d notice we’re talking about peanuts here. Maybe not peanuts to me and you. But peanuts to them.”

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Generation gap: Racing legend Mario Andretti has driven against both his sons, Michael and Jeff, and his nephew John. Now he’s hoping to do the same with his grandson Marco, who is 15.

“I’d love to do Le Mans with him,” said Mario, who is 62. “But that could definitely be the impossible dream.”

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Head case: From David Whitley of the Orlando Sentinel: “According to media reports, which are never wrong, Barry Bonds’ hat size grew by two sizes last year.

“Medical experts say that kind of skull expansion for a 37-year-old man can only happen if he is taking steroids, or he’s paid $18 million and allowed exclusive use of three lockers, a lounge chair, a television and a personal trainer and French chef in the clubhouse.”

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Still kicking: Morten Andersen of the Kansas City Chiefs says he wants to play in the NFL until he’s 50 and shatter the standard set by quarterback-kicker George Blanda, who played until he was 48.

“It’s attainable if I stay healthy,” said Andersen, soon to be 42. “I still love this game. I still love the camaraderie and the competition. The NFL is a lot of fun.”

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Teetotalers: According to a survey conducted by ESPN.com and a marketing firm, 55% of Southland fans drink beer while they watch sports, fewer than in any other U.S. major market.

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Looking back: On this day in 1978, Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds went 0 for 4 against Atlanta to end his hitting streak at 44 games, the longest since Joe DiMaggio’s record 56-game streak in 1941, in a 16-4 loss to the Braves.

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Trivia answer: Davey Lopes, with 63 in 1976.

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And finally: Rookie quarterback David Carr, the NFL’s No. 1 draft pick, is making a strong impression in his first training camp with the expansion Houston Texans, writes Fran Blinebury of the Houston Chronicle:

“It is not the [passes] Carr can drop into the hands of sprinting receivers that have offensive coordinator Chris Palmer smiling. It is [Carr’s] reading of defenses and [his] understanding of what the Texans are trying to do.”

Said Palmer: “The great players in all sports--a Jordan, a Gretzky--have vision about the game that is beyond the average player’s. David seems to be that way.”