Closer Gagne Opens Up in Interview

The Dodgers’ Canadian closer, Eric Gagne, who did an interview with ESPN that was taped Tuesday and will begin appearing on “SportsCenter” at 3 p.m. today, apparently hasn’t forgotten his roots.

He was asked, if he could attend one football game, what would it be, the Super Bowl or the CFL’s Grey Cup?

Gagne: “The Grey Cup.”

Of Barry Bonds, Gagne said, “He scares everybody.... I have a lot of respect for Barry Bonds.... He’s changed the game and the whole perspective of his team.”

Asked who is the most colorful pitcher he’s seen, Gagne said, “I love Rob Dibble.... He once threw at someone for bunting.”

That should be fodder for Dan Patrick’s radio show, because Dibble is part of that show.

Trivia time: Who was Chick Hearn’s first broadcast partner? (Hint: He preceded Hot Rod Hundley.)

Get out the driver: In a T&L; Golf magazine article about zany golf, Brad King writes that each year there is a “cross-country” team competition at a club in North Carolina.

“One hole is played from the 16th tee to the first green,” King writes. “The par-15 measures some 2,325 yards, depending on your preferred route.”

Somehow, “a birdie 14” has a strange ring to it.

Minor discrepancy: “Minor league baseball attendance passed 39 million fans this season,” says comedy writer Jerry Perisho. “And that doesn’t even include people at Detroit Tiger games.”

Lucky Ducks: Several hypersensitive, apparently cocky USC fans e-mailed regarding a Morning Briefing item about the Trojans being lucky Oregon isn’t on their schedule this season.

“Of course you meant a ‘lucky break’ for the Ducks,” Drew Netherton of Irvine said. Other e-mailers were not as tactful.

Don’t you love agents? Player agent Drew Rosenhaus of Miami, once called the most hated man in pro football by Sports Illustrated, is profiled in HBO’s “Real Sports.”

Correspondent Bernie Goldberg tells Rosenhaus, “You’ve been called a publicity-seeking egomaniac. A psychopath, an assassin, a predator. And the biggest -- forgive me -- scumbag in the business.”

Replies Rosenhaus: “I like ‘assassin.’ I like ‘predator.’ Most of these comments come from competitors that I’ve squashed. These are people who I have come in and beat the snot out of. It’s excuses. Hey, I just out-work ‘em. I’m more talented than they are. Hey, they would love the publicity. They’re envious.”

Trivia answer: Al Michaels.

A better idea: A caller to the KFWB Dodger postgame talk show Sunday suggested a different name for “Fan Appreciation Day”: “Fan Apology Day.”

And finally: The Angels announced that they had achieved their season-long goal of providing 5 million meals to feed those in need in Orange County through their “Halos Fight Hunger” program.

But how about their fans? They were starved for victories this season.

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