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Kreskin Couldn’t Have Said It Any Better

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Times Staff Writer

Actor Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus Christ in “The Passion of the Christ” and is portraying legendary golfer Bobby Jones in “Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius,” has struck up a friendship with John Wooden.

One reason, Caviezel’s father was a member of the 1959-60 UCLA freshman basketball team.

So Caviezel invited Wooden to go with him to the premiere of the Bobby Jones movie.

As a guest on HBO’s “On the Record With Bob Costas,” Caviezel said, “There is a line in there by O.B. Wheeler, played by Malcolm McDowell, where he says, ‘Money. It is going to ruin sport.’

“When Wooden heard the line, he hit my leg and said, ‘That was prophetic.’ ”

Trivia time: UCLA athletes and coaches have appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated 100 times, more than any other school’s representatives. Who was the first Bruin to appear on an SI cover?

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Numbers game: Eli Manning, a bit demanding these days, not only refused to play for the San Diego Chargers, he also asked to wear jersey No. 10 for the New York Giants.

Giant punter Jeff Feagles had been wearing No. 10, so to get Feagles to give up the number, Manning offered his family a Florida vacation. Feagles accepted the offer.

“Had Feagles balked,” speculated Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “Archie Manning would probably have ordered the Giants to trade Feagles to the Chargers.”

Ideal location: Regarding Manning’s refusal to play for the Chargers, Bill Simmons of ESPN the Magazine, asks, “What’s wrong with San Diego? The Clippers left 20 years ago.”

A real charge: Also from Simmons: “The draft kicks off as ESPN interns plug Mel Kiper Jr. into the nearest electrical outlet.”

Good point: During an ABC conference call announcing that Lisa Guerrero was being replaced by Michele Tafoya on “Monday Night Football,” a reporter suggested Guerrero had been hired mainly to attract male viewers who are casual football fans.

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“What, I can’t attract casual male viewers?” replied Tafoya.

What next? From Channel 9’s Alan Massengale: “First they cancel the ‘Victoria’s Secret’ show. Then they fire Lisa Guerrero. Keep this up and men everywhere will start reading books.”

Something’s missing: Randy Turner of the Winnipeg Free Press, on claims that a new NBA video game contains no violence: “In other words, assault and batteries not included.”

Looking back: On this day in 1904, Cy Young of the Boston Red Sox pitched a perfect game against the Philadelphia Athletics, beating Rube Waddell, 3-0.

Trivia answer: Rafer Johnson, in 1959.

And finally: In response to Tuesday’s trivia question about Walton being Bill Sharman’s middle name, Sharman said, “Whenever I see Bill Walton, I remind him that I was the first Bill Walton.”

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

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