Political Spin Can Come Naturally to Athletes

What would you do if you were governor of California? ESPN the Magazine asked that question of several California athletes, among them Philadelphia Eagle guard John Welbourn, who played at Peninsula High in Rolling Hills, and at California.

Welbourn has the genes for politics. His father, Robert, was a mayor on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and twice ran for Congress. His older brother, Ed, was a deputy district attorney in Orange County.

“I know that what you do now may come back to haunt you later if you run for public office,” Welbourn was quoted as saying.

“But American voting is so much about name and face recognition -- as long as I could chalk a lot of stuff up to youthful indiscretion, I think I’d have a chance.”

Fun in the sun: The Phoenix Suns’ Casey Jacobsen, from Glendora High and Stanford, also participated in the poll.

“I’m too young and inexperienced to handle such a big state, so after winning I’d just go hang out on the beach,” he said.

Trivia time: What was the original name of the Chicago Cubs?

Prophet: After Paul Edinger’s 48-yard field goal gave the previously winless Chicago Bears a 24-21 victory over the Oakland Raiders Sunday, CBS’ Dan Dierdorf said to broadcast partner Dick Enberg, “Dick, I think the Cubs are going to win tonight.”

Penalty kick: Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune asks, “How far has Enberg’s status slipped that he gets stuck working a Bear game?”

It is true: Headline in the Chicago Sun-Times Monday: “Too Wood to Be True.”

Baseball fever: NASCAR driver Ken Schrader, a Missouri native, wrote several guest columns for the Kansas City Star in connection with last weekend’s Winston Cup race at Kansas City, Kan. Schrader did so poorly in qualifying Friday he ended up starting 43rd and last in Sunday’s race.

“Some hit it out of the park, a few took extra bases,” Schrader wrote in his lead for Saturday’s edition.

“I guess we hit it back to the mound.”

Looking back: On this date in 1984, the San Diego Padres won the National League pennant with a 6-3 victory over the Cubs in a best-of-five playoff series.

The Cubs won the first two games, then lost three straight, all in San Diego.

Trivia answer: The Cubs were known as the Chicago White Stockings from 1876 to 1902.

And finally: In a Morning Briefing item last week, boxing promoter Bob Arum compared the price per fight of an upper-level seat at Saturday night’s card at Staples Center to the price of a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

Reader Kim Brunnenmeyer e-mailed, saying, “Arum probably didn’t have to buy and sit through three other cups of coffee he wasn’t interested in before getting the cup he really wanted.”

Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.