Here’s Some Sobering News About the Strike

This might not be among your top concerns regarding the potential economic impact of a baseball strike, but ...

Stock analyst Carlos Laboy has studied the issue and concludes that Americans will drink about 157,500 fewer barrels of beer if the season ends early, Bloomberg News reports.

Though many fans are below legal drinking age, Laboy based his study on “an aggressive consumption estimate” of 48 ounces, or four 12-ounce beers, per fan.

(No wonder you see fights in the stands.)

The extra sobriety imposed by a strike would trim quarterly earnings at Adolph Coors Co. by about a penny, and at Anheuser-Busch by about a tenth of a penny, estimated Laboy, an analyst for Bear, Stearns & Co.

The net loss for the beer industry would be $2.36 million, he estimated. But even if the boys of summer pack up their gear early, the boys of fall will provide another reason to drink.

“The return of college and pro football, as well as the new TV season, should create enough ‘beer occasions’ to offset a baseball strike,” Laboy said.

Somebody will drink to that.

Trivia time: When was the last time USC finished the football season ranked in the top 10 in the Associated Press poll?

Extra napkins: Fatburger is expanding more than waistlines.

With the Santa Monica-based chain aiming to go nationwide, Cincinnati Bengal tackle Willie Anderson says he plans to open 10 Fatburger franchises in the Cincinnati area and another 10 in Atlanta.

“It’s the biggest burger, man,” the 6-foot-5, 340-pound Anderson said. “You can pile on it. It’s amazing.”

But not for you, Nate: This comment courtesy of Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe:

“I’m going to guess 30 months of a prison diet should help Nate Newton slim down to under 300 pounds.”

Raider news: Kicker Sebastian Janikowski is back on Raider fans’ bad side after missing field-goal attempts from 36 and 33 yards.

“An NFL kicker booed by the hometown fans in the opening quarter? Of the club’s first preseason game?” Ailene Voisin writes in the Sacramento Bee.

“The trouble with Sebastian Janikowski is that when he messes up, he doesn’t merely stub his toe. He falls face down and lands with a thud.”

Playoff, please: Nebraska could play as many as 15 games this football season--13 regular season, plus the Big 12 championship game and a bowl game.

“Effective immediately, no more using the burden of too many games as a reason against a playoff,” Mike Lopresti writes in USA Today.

Fifteen games?

“One less than the Dallas Cowboys,” Lopresti notes.

Trivia answer: USC was No. 8 in the final poll of the 1989 season after beating Michigan in the 1990 Rose Bowl game with Todd Marinovich at quarterback and Larry Smith as coach.

And finally: Wellington Mara, the octogenarian co-owner of the New York Giants, still attends most of the team’s two-a-day practices.

“It’s amazing,” Coach Jim Fassel told the New York Times. “I love this game, I’ve made my whole life at it, but I doubt at 86 years old I will be out watching practice.”