There’s No Uniform Policy in Place

It was almost midnight Thursday, but the Russell Athletic factory was running full-tilt. Major League Baseball’s trading deadline usually means tight deadlines at the factory in Alexander City, Ala., where uniforms for 15 teams are manufactured.

Plant manager Temple Coley wishes he would get advance notice of personnel moves, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes, however, he gets a tip.

“We’ll have an equipment manager from a particular club that may call and say, ‘Hey, we’re in talks with a particular club about a particular player, make me a uniform with this name and number,’ ” Coley said.

A complete uniform can be put together in 2 1/2 hours and then a courier takes it to the airport to be shipped to the team. Teams rarely keep a supply of nameless spare uniforms.

Trivia time: Who played in 978 consecutive NBA games?

Idol thought: Cable channel VH1 recently presented its list of the “200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons.” The top seven were Oprah, Elvis, Lucille Ball, Tom Cruise, Marilyn Monroe, Madonna and Michael Jordan.

Muhammad Ali, at No. 16, was the next sports figure. Tiger Woods was No. 58. Included were Magic Johnson (65), Jackie Robinson (96), Wayne Gretzky (106), Babe Ruth (136) and Serena and Venus Williams (156).

The Williams sisters no doubt would have liked to have been ranked higher -- or separately -- but at least they have something on No. 188 Joe Namath: They managed to slip in ahead of No. 161 ... Monica Lewinsky.

Ouch! The Mayo Clinic is researching the yips, the mysterious ailment that leaves a golfer unable to putt. Researchers are trying to discover if the problem is psychological or neurological, and if some of the new heart-rate reducing medicines will help.

The study also is looking into the notion that surgeons suffer from the yips, which, of course, might lead to consequences worse than a three-putt.

Sticky wicket: Lauderhill, Fla., a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, is planning to build the United States’ first championship cricket stadium, with 35,000 seats and replete with sky boxes. City officials are hoping to attract at least one game of the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

Yes, apparently there is a Cricket World Cup.

Hair-raising: Don King has been talking about starting an all-boxing cable channel that would include classic fights from his personal collection.

Steve Hummer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says King therefore is “close to achieving his ultimate goal of picking the pockets of even dead fighters.”

Dumb rule: Buffalo Business First reports that the NFL has advised the Bills that they must stop playing host to Jumbogate, a promotion allowing fans to watch road games on video screens at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Proceeds go to charity.

Evidently, league policy specifically prohibits such “mass out-of-home viewing.”

Apparently, fans congregating to watch their team is detrimental to the NFL.

Trivia answer: A.C. Green.

And finally: From David Letterman’s Top 10 Perks of Winning the Tour de France: “You can become the most famous cyclist since, uh, you know, that other guy.”

-- John Weyler