Gannon Feels Like a Winner to Raiders

Coming off last year’s 4-12 season, it figured the Oakland Raiders would be primed for changes.

And with Norv Turner as their new coach and without veteran receiver Tim Brown, they have made some.

One change they have not made -- yet -- is at quarterback, where Rich Gannon remains at the controls, even though he’s coming off shoulder surgery. And former New York Giant signal caller Kerry Collins is looking over that shoulder.

The 38-year-old Gannon expressed himself at a meeting with Raider officials before training camp opened.

“I made it real clear,” Gannon told the Sacramento Bee. “I said, ‘Look, if you want a guy who’s going to help you win double-digit football games, play at a Pro Bowl level, who’s going to be a good decision maker for you, who’s going to help your team win every week, then I’m your guy.

“If you think you can save money, if you think you want to go a different direction, then that’s fine....

“They told me that they want to win. That’s all I needed to hear.”

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Trivia question: Dodger shortstop Cesar Izturis is a Gold Glove candidate. Who is the last Dodger shortstop to have won one?

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More Trojan glory: Regarding the streak in which an athlete with USC affiliation has won an Olympic gold medal in every Summer Olympics since 1912, a number of readers e-mailed, asking about 1980, when the United States boycotted the Moscow Games.

Former Trojan Michelle Ford, swimming for Australia, won a gold medal at Moscow as a member of the winning 800-meter freestyle relay team.

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Fear factor: A fat lead in the National League Central should have St. Louis Cardinal Manager Tony La Russa feeling a bit more relaxed these days.

But he’s not the type to relax, La Russa told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

“Imagine if this lead gets away from us,” he said. “I would never show my face in this town again. That’s the fear that drives you.... That’s a powerful fear.”

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Sticky problem: Chicago Tribune columnist Jimmy Greenfield sees the Lakers’ convoluted trade of Gary Payton to the Boston Celtics as yet another example of what’s wrong with pro sports.

That doesn’t mean Greenfield has a solution.

“The NBA is basically run by agents, who broker trades and force management to kowtow to the demands of their multimillionaire clients,” Greenfield said.

“This is the product of the free-agent system, and the alternative, which is giving more control to the owners, has never proven to be any better.”

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Trivia answer: Maury Wills, who won consecutive Gold Gloves in 1961 and 1962.

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And finally: From Seth Soffian of the Fort Myers (Fla.) News-Press: “Did you hear the one about Tiger Woods? During [last week’s] PGA tournament, Amy Mickelson handed one of her children to him before she realized it wasn’t her husband, Phil.

“ ‘Sorry,’ she said, ‘I’m still used to guys who can’t win majors.’ ”