Throwback to a Time Fans Knew the Score

Sometimes adrenaline is a good thing. Sometimes it isn’t.

Brian Friedrich, 22, of Hermosa Beach, who is entering his senior year at UC Santa Barbara, was in the left-field pavilion at Dodger Stadium on Thursday when Montreal’s Vladimir Guerrero hit a towering, third-inning homer that was estimated at 454 feet. It landed near Friedrich, who managed to retrieve it.

He was so excited that when he heard someone yell “throw it back,” he did. The next person to yell, an Expo fan, told Friedrich this wasn’t just another home run ball. The home run set an Expo team record of 226.

“I should have known because I was watching the night before when Guerrero tied Andre Dawson’s record,” Friedrich said. “I wasn’t thinking. Adrenaline rush.”

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Hurts so good: Kevin Szymanski, 28, of Encino was one of 10 contest entrants who won the right to try to hit three pitches from Nolan Ryan at his double-A ballpark in Round Rock, Texas. Before taking the mound, Ryan told the Austin American-Statesman, “My goal is truly not to hit anybody.”

Naturally, Ryan’s first pitch hit Szymanski right in the back.

“Actually, it’s cooler this way,” Szymanski said. “I’ll be able to tell my kids that I got drilled by Nolan Ryan.”

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Trivia time: Serena Williams won the U.S. Open last year without losing a set, and her sister Venus did the same thing in 2001. Who was the last man to accomplish the feat?

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Smell of success: Andre Agassi has a new men’s fragrance, Aramis Life, which he was pitching on NBC’s “Today” show last week.

“It has some life to it, yet it’s not too in-your-face,” he said.

Agassi said he was involved in the creative process.

“I wanted to be involved for the fact that I could be creative and I could go into my after-tennis life in a different world,” he said. “There’s a lot of things that get me excited about this.”

Whatever turns you on.

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Say it ain’t so: The National Thoroughbred Racing Assn. and Breeders’ Cup officials are formulating a plan to pay jockeys for wearing advertising patches on their pants at the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita on Oct. 25, according to BloodHorse.com.

The patches would represent the title sponsors of races. Five of the eight races have title sponsors. For example, all jockeys in the John Deere Turf race would wear a John Deere ad on their pants.

Someday jockeys might be like race-car drivers, who are covered with patches.

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For what it’s worth: In a TV Guide poll of 1,020 adults in the Aug. 30 issue of the magazine, the Dallas Cowboys finished No. 1 in the “favorite team” category with 9% of the votes. And the No. 1 “least favorite team?” The Cowboys (18%).

Also, 37% of the respondents said they drink at least one beer while watching an NFL game.

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Trivia answer: Neale Fraser, 1960. Tony Trabert is the only male player to do it twice, in 1953 and ’55.

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And finally: Legendary Detroit Tiger broadcaster Ernie Harwell, a guest on Dan Patrick’s ESPN Radio show, was talking to co-host Rob Dibble, who has 15 tattoos. Asked if he has any tattoos, Harwell said, “If I got a tattoo of a grapefruit when I was your age, Rob, it would look like a raisin now.”