This Proves That Oil’s Well That Ends Well

Turkish olive oil-wrestling in the northwestern town of Edirne, about 200 kilometers from Istanbul, was recently chronicled by Associated Press.

Announcers read poetry, and men compete wearing nothing but long leather shorts -- and a coat of oil.

“Just like the United States has American football and Spain bullfighting, we have oil wrestling,” Kadir Birlik, an official from the Turkish Wrestling Federation, told the wire service.

This ancestral sport has another unique custom. There is, apparently, no tradition of cheering for the winner. According to Kirkpinar.net, a web site about the sport, the competitors are applauded together.

And speaking of cheering, it might have been interesting had this been an Olympic sport at Sydney in 2000 with Australians chanting: “Oi, Oi, Oi!”

Or was that “Oil, Oil, Oil”?

Trivia time: Who was the most valuable player of baseball’s 1985 All-Star game?

Dog days: Sorry, but there appears to be no end in sight to the quips about Brat-gate in Milwaukee.

The San Francisco Chronicle listed some one-liners from readers, and this one has local significance considering it involves one of the newest Dodgers.

Janice Hough of Palo Alto, on the Brewers’ hot-dog mascot getting whacked by the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Randall Simon: “It was the most spectacular baseball hot-dog incident since the A’s Jason McDonald was knocked unconscious in 1998 when he collided with Rickey Henderson.”

Mascot love: Other lovable mascots have been recalling the perils of the workplace, including Boomer Stralak, who spent 10 years working as Homer, a giant baseball at minor league games in Edmonton.

He took his hits from the kiddies, and went on hot-dog runs for Fernando Valenzuela when he was with the Angels and on a minor league assignment.

“I remember running hot dogs for him after the start of every game,” Stralak told the National Post. “So the minute the manager left for the field, Valenzuela would say, ‘Hey Homer. Go get me a few hot dogs.’ ”

Ivo the Great: It would be difficult for Ivo Karlovic of Croatia to come crashing back to earth. After all, he is 6 feet 10 inches tall.

But the youngster, who upset defending champion Lleyton Hewitt in the first round at Wimbledon, recently lost a challenger event in Bristol, England.

He didn’t lose his sense of humor, though.

“I will go home to Croatia for a week’s rest before playing a tournament there and I am looking forward to seeing my friends and family,” Karlovic told The Telegraph. “I expect they will give me a welcome. I might treat myself to a new car, though with my legs perhaps I should buy a bus.”

Trivia answer: LaMarr Hoyt, of the Padres, who led the National League to a 6-1 victory.

And finally: It’s not very often a struggling coach tries to resign and management refuses the offer.

Antonio Lopes of Brazil’s Vasco de Gama soccer club tried it -- and got a vacation instead.

“Lopes told me that he’s not feeling well personally and asked to leave,” said Eurico Miranda, the club’s flamboyant, cigar-smoking president. “I didn’t agree ... So I decided to give him some time off.”

-- Lisa Dillman