They’re Willing to Take Show on the Road

The Northern Arizona athletic department is sending out 50,000 brochures urging people to attend the Aug. 31 game against Arizona. What’s unusual about that?

The game is not at Flagstaff, but in Arizona Stadium at Tucson.

“It is a great opportunity to play against Arizona,” said Northern Arizona Athletic Director Steve Holton. “It’s a chance to rally 50,000 alums in the state of Arizona and get them involved with a high-profile event. We wanted to make sure our fans were aware of the unique chance to see the two schools compete on the football field.”

It will be the first meeting of the two Arizona schools in 57 years.

Trivia time: Who has the longest Formula One winning streak?

Be patient: Why are so many golf writers muttering about what is wrong with Phil Mickelson because he has won 21 PGA tournaments without winning a major?

Ben Hogan had 29 tournament titles before winning his first major and Sam Snead had 27 before his first. Not bad company.

Making a choice: Arthur Blank, new owner of the Atlanta Falcons, polled his fans on what they would like as entertainment during or after Falcon games. The breakdown:

James Brown 42%

Temptations 10%

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra 5%

None. Shut up and play football 43%

No fooling: The Atlanta Braves held a “Wanna Play Hooky From Work” day for an afternoon game with the Florida Marlins. Fans were given fake glasses, each with a nose and mustache, to serve as a disguise at the game.

“Marlins fans were not impressed, because that’s what they wear anyway,” noted Jerry Greene in the Orlando Sentinel.

Cows and cars: Stock car racing legend Richard Petty, on how he got started in racing: “My father was in the racing business instead of being a farmer. When I grew up, we used to go to school and play football, baseball and basketball, and all the boys, when they’d get through, they’d go home--most of them was country boys, and they’d plow fields and milk cows. I went home and worked on race cars.”

Vote of confidence: San Jose Mercury News columnist Mark Purdy, evaluating past Golden State Warrior coaches, said of Brian Winters, “The coaching equivalent of Spam. He took up space for no apparent reason.”

Small favors: After a giant pine tree fronting the 18th green at Pebble Beach had to be cut down because of disease, the course owners decided to replace it with a similar tree from the first hole. It took more than 80 people to move the 70-foot-tall Monterey cypress to its new location at a cost of nearly $300,000.

But, as SCGA official Bob Thomas noted, “At least they didn’t have to pay for the tree.”

Trivia answer: Alberto Ascari, who won seven consecutive Grand Prix races in 1953.

And finally: Now that The Times has a daily soccer column, how about some cricket news: England captain Nasser Hussain was unbeaten on 120 to help his team to a 257-4 lead over India on day one of the first Test at Lord’s in London. Hussain faced 262 deliveries and struck 20 fours.

For the uninitiated, “deliveries” are like pitches and “fours” are like home runs.