‘Taking a Drop’ Gets a Whole New Meaning

Talk about an elevated tee.

As part of a charity event, David Feherty, John Jacobs, Gary McCord and Fuzzy Zoeller will tee off from the top of the Newport Beach Marriott today at 11 a.m. Their target will be the second hole at neighboring Newport Beach Country Club, site of this week’s Toshiba Senior Classic.

The distance is 115 yards, with a drop of 162 feet.

So how will they decide which club to use?

“I’ve employed a buddy of mine, Dr. Lew Keller, a nuclear physicist from Stanford,” McCord said. “He understands parabolic inertia, angular momentum of a golf ball, as well as rate of decline.

“I’m awash in equations.”

Trivia time: Has a 16th-seeded team ever beaten a top-seeded team in the men’s or women’s NCAA basketball tournament?

One bright spot: NASCAR driver Eric McClure, 26, made only his second start in a Nextel Cup race Sunday at Las Vegas.

“Making the Cup race was big, obviously,” he said. “The biggest thing? I walked into the sports book at the Stratosphere to see how the basketball games were going, and they had my name up on the odds board.”

McClure, listed at 300 to 1, finished 32nd among 43 drivers.

Expert pitchman: Bob Knight, interviewed Sunday by Channel 2’s Jim Hill, didn’t forget that DirecTV is paying him to promote its Mega March Madness pay package that enables subscribers to watch NCAA men’s basketball tournament games not available on CBS.

When Hill told Knight that his longtime friend Pete Newell was watching, Knight said, “There’s nobody in my lifetime I’ve enjoyed having a relationship with, a friendship with, more than Pete Newell. Nor is there a person I respect more.

“And so I’ll simply tell you, Pete, don’t forget DirecTV, because you can see everyone there in your living room on the Mega March package on DirecTV.”

Happens to the best: Unlike some athletes, Gallo Blue Chip knows when to call it quits. The highest money-winning pacer of all time, with $4,260,959, is retiring at age 8.

“Physically, he is fine,” trainer Mark Ford said. “He’s just older and has lost a few steps.”

Steroid backlash: Sports collectibles dealer Andy Madec of amsportscards.com reports that since the steroid scandal broke, Barry Bonds’ rookie card has dropped in value from $2,200 to $700, and Jose Canseco’s rookie card has dropped in value from $200 to $20.

Looking back: On this day in 2001, 15th-seeded Hampton beat second-seeded Iowa State in the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, 58-57.

Trivia answer: Yes. In 1998, the 16th-seeded Harvard women beat top-seeded Stanford, 71-67.

And finally: In 1988, Mike Greenwell of the Boston Red Sox finished second to Canseco in the American League’s most-valuable-player voting. Now that Canseco has acknowledged using steroids, Greenwell says he wants the trophy.

“He better get it before I sell it,” Canseco told Sporting News radio.

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