He’d Be Welcome at Payton’s Place

Mike Ditka, who coached the late Walter Payton in Chicago, believes the Bears’ great would have held no malice toward Dallas Cowboy running back Emmitt Smith for breaking his NFL rushing record.

“I think that Emmitt and Walter are very similar in not only how they played the game, but how they handled things off the field,” Ditka said. “They are both very giving people.

“I don’t think Emmitt or Walter had a selfish bone in them. They are so similar in the way they handle things -- the public, the fans, their willingness to help out with charities. I think that’s a part of giving back to the game and they both understand this better than most. They both gave so much to the game, which is immeasurable in Walter’s eyes.”

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Trivia time: Who has the record for hits given up in a World Series game?

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Tough town: Skip Bayless of the San Jose Mercury News wonders if Art Howe really knows what he’s doing leaving the Oakland A’s to manage the New York Mets.

“Howe’s nice-guy rapport with the media won’t buy him nearly as much insurance in New York. Mo Vaughn, Roberto Alomar and Mike Piazza will walk on the poor man as if he’s a welcome mat. Welcome to hell, Art, but congrats on the contract.”

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Second opinion: Newsday’s Jon Heyman doesn’t like Howe’s chances either:

“Beset by panic and poor taste, the Mets have settled on the worst possible man for an impossible task.

“Good luck to Art Howe, a nice man with a misleading resume, misguided confidence and almost no chance to succeed as Mets’ manager....

“The Mets wanted Lou Piniella or Dusty Baker and they got a man who isn’t even their poor cousin. They shot for the moon, and wound up with Swiss cheese.”

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Red Sox fans understand: The Arizona football team has plenty of reasons for wanting to beat Washington State tonight.

The biggest one: The Wildcats haven’t won an October game the last two seasons under Coach John Mackovic.

“There is a curse on this team,” receiver Bobby Wade told the Tucson Citizen.

That curse figures to last until next season. Arizona is 0-3 in the Pac-10, and Washington State is 3-0.

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Looking back: On this day in 1990, Wayne Gretzky became the first NHL player to reach 2,000 career points when he assisted on a goal by Tomas Sandstrom at 14:32 of the first period of a King game at Winnipeg.

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Looking back again: On this day in 1998, the Mets announced All-Star catcher Mike Piazza had agreed to a seven-year, $91-million contract, then the richest deal in baseball history.

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Trivia answer: Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators gave up 15 hits against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Game 7 of the 1925 World Series.

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And finally: From Jerry Greene of the Orlando Sentinel, commenting on the World Series TV coverage: “Somebody make Fox stop it with the gigantic close-up shots of pitchers. There’s not a culture on our planet that finds nose hairs attractive.”

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-- Mike Terry