This List Shows Just How Bad TV Can Be

Lists seem to be the rage these days. Jerry Greene of the Orlando Sentinel decided to list the Top 10 Worst TV Sports Shows. His top three:

3. The Magic Hour. It wasn’t a sports show per se, but it would be wrong to exclude Magic Johnson’s 1998 venture into late-night TV. He was as unintentionally funny as Howie Mandel.

2. The ESPYs. If you just saw it, you don’t need an explanation.

1. The XFL. Not the football. The players and coaches did their best--but you’re doomed when somebody decides it’s smart to show a guy standing at a urinal during halftime. And we didn’t even mention the governor of Minnesota.

Trivia time: Who won the first Winston Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and also at California Speedway?

Changing times: Imagine the looks you would have gotten 20 years ago, says Terry Foster in the Detroit News, “If you had predicted that in 2002, the NBA’s first draft pick would be from China, a black man would be the world’s greatest golfer, the American League’s top hitter would be from Japan, and the NHL’s leading scorer would be black.”

Good reason: After playing nine innings Wednesday in 1 hour, 41 minutes--the fastest game in the major leagues since 1984--winning pitcher Jose Lima of the Detroit Tigers said, “I think the home plate umpire might have had a date tonight, because he had a big [strike] zone.”

Foreign flavor: Boris Said is one of America’s premier road racers, but he is not happy with what he sees in the American Le Mans Series.

“It should be called the European Le Mans Series,” the Carlsbad driver complained to Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

“We pay all the bills, but all the drivers come from Europe. Porsche sells many of its cars here but puts only little German factory guys in their race cars.”

Bad timing: Pittsburgh Pirate manager Lloyd McClendon has called for 61 intentional walks this year, tops in the National League.

It backfired Wednesday when he had Cincinnati’s Brady Clark, a .196 hitter, intentionally walked.

The next batter, Todd Walker, hit a grand slam.

Lock the doors: Dennis Rodman is back. The former Laker rebounder is hosting a Rodman’s Gone Wild Celebrity Tour extravaganza tonight in Detroit.

To promote the affair, he appeared in Real Detroit magazine wearing a wedding dress.

Just asking: From the Vent column in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “I wonder if baseball fans who ordered MLB Extra Innings on satellite will be able to get refunds if baseball goes on strike?”

Looking back: On this day in 1984, Pete Rose of the Montreal Expos tied Ty Cobb’s record for most singles, 3,052.

Trivia answer: Jeff Gordon, in 1994 at Indy and 1997 at Fontana.

And finally: Shortly before Ted Williams died, he helped his son, John Henry Williams, hook on with a minor league team. Now the son wants his dad freeze-dried.

“Here’s what Teddy Ballgame would say when he thawed out in a hundred years,” says David Kindred in the Sporting News.

“That idiot kid of mine got a hit yet?”