Vaughn, Disney Teamed Up Earlier

In the book “The Hit Men and the Kid Who Batted Ninth,” author David Siroty follows the lives of former Seton Hall baseball teammates Mo Vaughn, Craig Biggio, John Valentin and Marteese Robinson.

Siroty says that Vaughn might have been destined to play for the Disney-owned Angels based on his choice of bedding while attending high school in Pawling, N.Y., 50 miles from his hometown of Norwalk, Conn.

“Maurice brought his Mickey Mouse sheets and lamp from home and the other students made fun of him,” Vaughn’s mother, Shirley, told Siroty. “But Maurice told them, ‘The man makes the sheets, the sheets don’t make the man.’

“The next year, all the kids had Mickey Mouse sheets.”

Trivia time: Who was the last amateur to win the British Open?

Welcome wagon: Former Gonzaga star Dan Dickau recently got a taste of the reception he’s likely to face as a high-profile rookie in the NBA.

Playing in a summer league game, the Atlanta Hawk guard set a screen against the New Jersey Nets’ Richard Jefferson, who retaliated by putting Dickau in a headlock and throwing him to the floor. Both players were ejected.

“He’s not John Stockton,” said Jefferson, who accused Dickau of throwing an elbow. “So if somebody tried to do that to me--he’s a rookie with less experience than me--something’s going to happen.”

Responded Marc Berman of the New York Post: “If only Jefferson showed this fire against the Lakers.”

Ten is enough: From Tom Fitzgerald of the San Francisco Chronicle: “Former heavyweight champ George Foreman volunteered for a blood test to prove that he’s not the father of Jasmine Christina Foreman, 22.

“For those keeping score at home, here’s a list of the kids he does take credit for: Michi, George Jr., Freeda George, Georgetta, Natalie, George III, Leola, George IV, George V and George VI. Tip to Jasmine: Try changing your name to Georgia.”

Pulling the plug: A campaign by Mississippi to promote junior quarterback Eli Manning for the Heisman Trophy has been scuttled by the player’s father.

Archie Manning, a former NFL quarterback who starred at Ole Miss, said his decision was based on what he observed when his other son, Peyton Manning, was second in the Heisman voting in 1997 while at Tennessee.

“I hated what they did to Peyton,” Archie Manning said. “It wasn’t a pleasant experience for our whole family.”

Playing the field: Detroit Tiger announcer Ernie Harwell, 84, as a camera crew followed him around Comerica Park: “These folks are from HBO. We’re doing a little segment on ‘Sex and the City.’ ”

Trivia answer: Bobby Jones, in 1930.

And finally: Recruiting violations contributed to Jim Harrick losing his job as UCLA’s basketball coach. Now academic casualties could cost him his entire recruiting class at Georgia.

Unless Wayne Arnold can earn a high school diploma before Georgia classes begin Aug. 19, Harrick will have lost all four incoming freshmen. Arnold was dropped last week from a summer school class that he needed to graduate.

“It’s unbelievable,” Harrick told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.