He Lost His Suit but He Can Keep the T-Shirt

Saul Shechter struck out in his lawsuit against Billy the Marlin in the case of the flying souvenir T-shirt.

Jurors took more than 7 1/2 hours over two days to decide in favor of the Florida Marlin mascot, the Marlins’ baseball club and Pro Player Stadium in the negligence case that arose from a baseball game two years ago at which Shechter was injured.

Shechter, 77, of Pembroke Pines, Fla., attended a Marlin game on July 20, 2000. He was hit in the eye by the shirt, which Billy the Marlin fired into the crowd through a pressurized gun.

“Nobody was happy Mr. Shechter got injured--least of all Billy,” John McClure, Billy’s attorney, said after the verdict.

The Marlins have twice lost million-dollar lawsuits filed by spectators hit by balls during batting practice. Shechter claimed he suffered permanent eye damage and was seeking about $250,000 in damages.

Billy said of the verdict: “It’s one small step for a fish and one giant leap for mascot-kind.”

Trivia time: When Luis Gonzalez of the Arizona Diamondbacks sat out last Tuesday’s game, it ended his consecutive games streak at 446, best among active major league players. Who now has the top spot?

Damaged goods: The Denver Broncos will pay for damages associated with a prank in the players’ dormitory at the University of Northern Colorado.

Several rookies were awakened Wednesday by buckets of water, then covered with flour and maple syrup. The rookies retaliated by spraying a fire extinguisher into the room of Shannon Sharpe, the alleged ringleader.

Damage was estimated to be from $1,000 to $3,000.

“Nothing was destroyed, but they made a mess,” said Jim Saccomano, Bronco vice president of public relations. “It wasn’t like when you hear about a rock band destroying a hotel room or something.”

Rock on: Knute Rockne III, the grandson of the famed Notre Dame coach, is a 50-year-old history teacher and assistant football coach at Brighton High in suburban Salt Lake City.

He said there were days when he dreamed of coaching at Notre Dame.

“As I grew older and the family commitments increased, I knew it would never happen,” Rockne said. “It would have made a great story for me to coach at Notre Dame, but that was only a youthful fantasy.”

They’re all wet: Dan Le Batard of the Miami Herald wasn’t impressed with the Dolphins’ exhibition debut in a 24-7 loss last week to New Orleans:

“The Dolphins looked-- how can we say this gently?--like a team that had never before seen a football, was completely unfamiliar with the game’s rules and had you longing for the grisly days when they merely lost 62-7. And that’s the good news.”

Trivia answer: Miguel Tejada of the Oakland Athletics with 393 through Sunday.

And finally: Detroit Tiger announcer Ernie Harwell, 84, who is retiring after this season, used to wear berets to the ballpark, a practice he took to after a trip to Spain. But he recently told the Washington Post that he has given them up:

“I’ve found that if you wear a beret, people think you’re either a cab driver or a producer of dirty movies.”