Hey, Dude, This Show Really Hit a Homer

How often can you say a TV show from the 1980s is still on the air, let alone thriving? Say it once.

“The Simpsons” was born in 1989 and the no-holds-barred animated program on Fox celebrated an anniversary of sorts Sunday night, airing its 300th episode. The Orlando Sentinel accumulated a top-15 list of sports-related themes and jabs aired over the years on “The Simpsons.”

First on the list was the 1992 episode “Homer at the Bat,” featuring, among others, Darryl Strawberry, Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Mike Scioscia and Don Mattingly.

Tennis didn’t make the cut. Not on the list were the likes of Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Venus and Serena Williams. They appeared in “Tennis the Menace” in February 2001. In the episode, Homer apparently doesn’t recognize Agassi.

Agassi: “I’m Andre Agassi.”

Homer: “The wrestler?”

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Trivia time: Who was the youngest champion male golfer at a U.S. Open in the 20th century?

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One-off: The judge was not impressed, calling a streaker’s on-ice appearance, “a pathetic spectacle.” But at least one person in the courtroom had a sense of humor at the proceedings when Tim Hurlbut was ordered to perform community service and pay a fine after his streak show at a Flames hockey game in Calgary.

“It’s fair to say Oct. 17 was the last on-ice NHL appearance of Mr. Hurlbut -- in or out of uniform,” said the streaker’s lawyer, Don MacLeod.

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High notes: The list of reasons for a loss on the soccer field are all too familiar: Bad marking, bad finishing, shoddy goalkeeping.

But a lack of singing?

Scotland manager Berti Vogts was running down the laundry list of excuses for a 2-0 loss to Ireland on Wednesday. It seems he wants his players -- all of them -- to be singing during the national anthem.

“I watched the tape yesterday and the players stayed in a line for the national anthem, maybe only five or six were singing,” Vogts told reporters. “These are all special points. I can sort this problem.”

It is hoped the singing coach won’t be sacked if someone doesn’t go along with the program.

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Mother Lobe: So maybe the nickname Dumbo was bothering him more than he let on. But former Tour de France champion Marco Pantani went to extreme measures recently to try to lose the moniker.

He underwent cosmetic surgery to pin back his earlobes and gave a dramatic explanation at a presentation for his new racing team over the weekend at Asti, Italy.

“A minor act of physical violence which symbolizes having the serenity to look at myself in the mirror,” the 33-year-old Pantani said at the news conference.

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Trivia answer: John McDermott won it in 1911, at 19 years 10 months 14 days.

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And finally: A tearful Washington State women’s basketball Coach Sherri Murrell after the Cougars ended a 45-game losing streak, beating Cal by three points Thursday: “When you’ve been punched in the head 21 times, it’s fun to get that one blow back. Just the look of that confetti to come down on those kids!”

-- Lisa Dillman