Costas Puts His Cards on the Table About Fad

The poker craze apparently has not moved Bob Costas.

On his HBO show, he said, “I hold in my hand the New York Times, and in the sports section, their new regular column on poker....Now at the risk of alienating degenerates from coast to coast, I must say I find it hard to get worked up over a sport that boasts all the pageantry and magic of Saturday night at my Uncle Murray’s basement....

“Meanwhile, your 18-year-old kid is somehow hooked on this mind-numbing fare and has blown most of next semester’s tuition payment on an online game of Texas Hold ‘Em.

“Look, poker is not a sport....Put it on the Game Show Network and let Chuck Woolery host it.

“Me, I have more high-brow duties, such as reminding you to stay tuned, if not next, then sometime soon for ‘Cathouse,’ ‘G-String Divas’ and ‘Taxicab Confessions.’ ”

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Trivia time: The San Diego Chargers play host to the St. Louis Rams for an exhibition game Sunday. What is Charger Coach Marty Schottenheimer’s connection to the Rams’ new secondary coach?

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Endurance test: Andre Ward fights on tonight’s San Jose card to be televised on FSN’s “Best Damn Sports Show Period.”

Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News, after witnessing a workout by the former Olympic champion, wrote: “For 15 ceaseless minutes last week at Kings Gym in Oakland ... no wait, 20 ridiculous minutes ... check that, 32 unthinkable minutes, the 2004 gold medalist kept going, testing both his stamina and my boxing imagination.

“Zero pauses. No water. No breathers. Just a single, tortuous 32-minute marathon round -- maybe 600 punches thrown by Ward and 500 punches he had to fend off.”

Afterward, Kawakami wrote, Ward winked and said, “You don’t see that a lot.”

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Making the grade: The Houston Rockets’ Tracy McGrady took batting practice with the double-A Mississippi Braves on Tuesday night at Pearl, Miss., and hit two balls out of the park, including a 390-foot drive.

“I’m not just a basketball player,” McGrady said. “I’ve got other talents.”

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Attention, Dodgers: San Diego’s Famous Chicken, Philadelphia’s Phillie Phanatic and the Phoenix Suns’ Gorilla were inducted Tuesday into the new Mascot Hall of Fame in Philadelphia.

Maybe the Dodgers should have a mascot after all. It might be the team’s best chance of producing another Hall of Famer.

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Looking back: On this day in 2000, Tiger Woods was at 11 under par after 36 holes of the PGA Championship and held a one-shot lead over Scott Dunlap. Two days later he won the title in a playoff with Bob May.

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Trivia answer: The Rams’ new secondary coach is Kurt Schottenheimer, the younger brother of Marty. He came to the Rams from the Green Bay Packers and is in his 19th season as an NFL assistant coach.

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And finally: From NBC’s Jay Leno: “Do you know what you call a player who doesn’t take steroids? A Dodger.”

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