But Fenway Jones Has a Certain Appeal to It

Third baseman Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves has named his newborn son Shea because he has a .314 batting average and 17 home runs in the 66 games he has played at the home of the New York Mets.

Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote, “It’s a good thing that Chipper doesn’t play much in San Diego, or else he might be tempted to name his next kid Petco.”

And from Tom FitzGerald of the San Francisco Chronicle: “Good thing Chipper hasn’t posted those numbers in Cincinnati. What a burden it would be to be named Great American Jones.”

Trivia time: What is Chipper Jones’ real first name?

A sitcom? CBS and Paramount Television are exploring the development of a sitcom based on Bob Knight.

There’s no title yet, but the producers might want to remember that the ABC show, “The Chair,” with John McEnroe, was tossed out after an unsuccessful run three years ago.

Other possibilities: A title for the Knight sitcom that probably won’t see the light of day, as noted by the Chicago Tribune’s Ed Sherman, is: “Everybody Loves Bobby.” There’s always this one: “What About Bob?”

Smooth transition: NBC producer Sam Flood, in charge of the Olympic track and field coverage at Athens, will shift gears and produce the NASCAR races at California Speedway in Fontana this weekend.

Flood said the transition shouldn’t be a problem. “They still all make left turns,” he said.

Peak performance: Michigan State football Coach John L. Smith, who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro along the Tanzania-Kenya border this summer, was a guest on the Fox Sports radio network morning show carried by XTRA (690, 1150).

Host Andrew Siciliano said, “Coach, I smell a locker room motivational speech. ... When they see their coach, 55 years old, get out and climb a 19,000-foot peak, what does that tell a bunch of 19-year-olds?”

Said guest co-host Bruce Jenner: “They better do their sprints, that’s what.”

A tall order: Sonya Thomas of Alexandria, Va., giving new meaning to cracking a record, recently won the World Lobster Eating Championship at Kennebunkport, Maine, by eating 9 3/4 pounds of lobster meat -- the equivalent of 38 soft-shelled lobsters -- in 12 minutes.

Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times, noting that Thomas weighs 105 pounds, wrote: “Giddy crustacean experts immediately proclaimed it the most lobster ever eaten by a shrimp.”

Trivia answer: Larry.

And finally: Ten members of the U.S. women’s soccer team presented a David Letterman Top 10 Tuesday night titled, “Things I Can Say Now That I’ve Won a Gold Medal.”

Brandi Chastain’s line was: “I’m pleased to announce that I’m now Mrs. Bob Costas.”

Said Costas on Wednesday: “All I can say is that after my sixth Ouzo [Greece’s national drink], my recollection of everything is kind of fuzzy.”

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