Getting to the Top Has Some New Downfalls

Don’t count Phil Mushnick of the New York Post among the fans of the list shows that ESPN has been showing recently in celebration of the network’s 25th anniversary. He doesn’t enjoy the trend that has been created.

Wrote Mushnick: “Never to be outdone in the advancement of desensitization, Fox Sports Net debuts ‘The Sports List’ Monday, hosted by Summer Sanders. The first edition will focus on the ‘Biggest Chokes’ in sports history. Charming.

“Perhaps it doesn’t dawn on the producers -- not that they’d care -- that one can’t choke on a big stage unless one is good enough to get there.”

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Quite a feat: Mike Schultz of the Lancaster JetHawks accomplished a rarity for pitchers when he struck out five batters in one inning Thursday against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in the Class A California League.

Incidentally, it was Schultz’s only inning of work in a 19-4 loss.

Only two other pitchers in professional baseball history have accomplished the feat, Kelly Wunsch of the Beloit Brewers in 1994 and Scott Gardner of the Fayetteville Generals in 1995.

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Trivia time: Who is the only six-time champion of golf’s British Open?

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Looking back: On this date in 1941, Joe DiMaggio’s record 56-game hitting streak ended in front of 67,000 at Cleveland.

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Underachiever? From the Caught on the Fly column in The Sporting News: “Word leaked last week that Mike Krzyzewski wasn’t the only college coach who was courted by the Lakers. Apparently, L.A. G.M. Mitch Kupchak also put out feelers to Roy Williams. Alas, the timing was all wrong. After all, if the Lakers wanted someone to coach a talent-loaded roster to the brink of a championship, only to fall short, it should have hired Williams last year.”

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Mum’s the word: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Bob Wolfley is amused by the number of NBA teams Michael Jordan has supposedly been in the running to buy an ownership stake in. “The day might ... arrive when Jordan actually will be quoted in a story that gives some indication of what it is he wants,” Wolfley wrote. “Until then, let’s say we play another round of ‘Where’s Baldo?’ or ‘Where’s Baldo Headed?’ ”

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Outrage, she wrote: Laura Vecsey of the Baltimore Sun was beside herself when news broke that Carlos Boozer and agent Rob Pelinka, had pulled out of a handshake agreement with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Wrote Vecsey: “By reneging on a good-faith deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers for $41 million and instead accepting a $68-million deal with the Utah Jazz that they were only in position to negotiate thanks to Cleveland’s trust, Boozer and Pelinka have done the unimaginable: They’ve made Alex Rodriguez and Scott Boras look like poster children for Athletes for the Ethical Treatment of Sports Team Owners.”

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Trivia answer: Harry Vardon.

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And finally: In case there were lingering doubts ESPN was omnipresent, Sportscenter Hero was victorious Wednesday in the seventh race at the Solano County Fair in Vallejo, Calif., and Espy was second in the seventh race at Hollywood Park.