He Knows to Keep the Engine Running
Soccer referees spend non-World Cup years working regional games, which helps prepare them for the intensity of the international tournament.
Said referee Brian Hall to ESPN the Magazine: “I once did a game with two Mexican teams. In the last minute, I called for a penalty kick that decided the game. All of a sudden, the team and crowd were running at me.
“My car was cornered, so I ran into a market and hid in the fridge for 30 minutes. Now I always back my car into a spot for a quick exit.”
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Trivia time: If Justine Henin-Hardenne wins at Wimbledon, she would become the 10th woman to have won all four majors. Who were the others?
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A pointed question: The Power, the Hammer, Cool, Thunder, Hurricane, the Pride, Smiffy and Jackpot are nicknames for competitors in what sport held over the weekend? Nope, not wrestling. It was the Las Vegas Desert Classic darts tournament.
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Beasts of burden: Of the weekend baseball series in Chicago between the struggling Cubs and the steady White Sox, Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Tribune offered this: “If there were ever a more glaring example of two different animals, it would have to be a thoroughbred and a pack mule. And I apologize to the pack mules, who can carry their own weight.”
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Still not a fan: Corky Simpson of the Tucson Citizen doesn’t “understand the big thrill in nil” and adds, “If the World Cup telecasts have shown us anything, it’s why soccer will never make it big in this country. Except to let kids work off energy and give SUVs a reason to exist.”
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Out to pasture: NASCAR drivers remain country folk at heart. Said journeyman Morgan Shepherd to NASCAR Illustrated, when asked what he likes most about getting away from it all on his motorcycle:
“Probably going down the road and smelling all the different smells, such as honeysuckle and cow manure. And I like the scenery. That’s so relaxing.”
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Beam them up: Oregon’s football team will have 48 color schemes available this season, and helmets colored with paint made with glass beads that costs $2,400 a gallon.
Writes the Oregonian’s Rachel Bachman: “No longer do all college football uniforms resemble your gym teacher’s Sunday finest. At Oregon, they look hatched from an alien pod sent to Earth to seek first downs and souvenir sales.”
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Worthy opponent: Evander Holyfield, 43, has signed for another fight, prompting Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post to comment, “Not that the ex-champ isn’t what he used to be, but he did some shadow boxing the other day and his shadow knocked him out.”
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Trivia answer: Maureen Connolly, Chris Evert, Shirley Fry, Steffi Graf, Doris Hart, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Margaret Smith Court and Serena Williams.
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And finally: From Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle: “Larry Brown once said coaching the New York Knicks was his dream job. Brown will now not coach the Knicks for the next four seasons, at $10 million per. Now that’s a dream job.”
