Morning briefing

In Texas, football is political

Sen. Barack Obama visited Mack Brown and the Texas Longhorns on Thursday before squaring off with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in a presidential debate.

An Austin American-Statesman blogger wondered hopefully, “Perhaps Mack was lobbying Obama about that border fence idea we mentioned in today’s paper -- a border fence that would keep the Oklahoma recruiters out.”

They take their football that seriously in Texas.

Add debate

The American-Statesman offered several mock questions to the presidential hopefuls.

Regarding the Bush legacy: “Given allegations that Reggie Bush received gifts from an agent while at USC, do you agree that Bush’s Heisman Trophy should be rescinded and given to Vince Young instead?”

On the war on drugs: “Sen. Obama, you share a birthday with Roger Clemens. Do you believe him? Even a little bit?”

On homeland security: “Do you think the Patriot Act should be expanded to prohibit football teams from videotaping opponents’ practices?”

You get the idea.

The trivia time

Who was the only golfer to win the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open during the same year, and when did he accomplish this?

Now you see

him . . .

Gilbert Arenas was asked by Men’s Journal to name one skill he would like to master. Shooting? Rebounding? Defense? Nope.

His answer: “Invisibility -- turn myself invisible any time I want.”

Now that would make the Wizards guard an all-around player.

Wishful thinking

Regarding invisibility, Marc Berman of the New York Post expressed a similar wish for the Knicks -- especially their leader -- after a 40-point loss Wednesday to the 76ers:

“Isiah Thomas should trade the whole roster at [Thursday’s] 3 p.m. deadline, including himself, after the Knicks nauseated all of New York last night in hitting a new low,” Berman wrote.

“Today -- we pray -- is Thomas’ final trading deadline as chief of the Knicks.”

Alas, it was not to be. The woeful Knicks, and Thomas, are still there.

Asking too much

The Pan-Pacific Championship is underway in Hawaii, and tickets for the soccer tournament are only $10, which seemed like a deal, at first, to Houston Dynamo Coach Dominic Kinnear.

“I’m very surprised tickets are $10,” he told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. “I myself went down and had a pina colada, which was also $10. If everybody can just hold off on one pina colada, then we will see more people at the games.”

A fitting tribute

A worldwide toast to late Cubs announcer Harry Caray was held Thursday night, and fans at his namesake restaurant in downtown Chicago celebrated by drinking from a 100-gallon glass of beer.

(One gallon for every year since the Cubs won a World Series.)

“I’m sure Harry would say that’s just another after-dinner drink for him,” Grant DePorter, president of the Haray Caray Restaurant Group, told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Catchy name

The Bassmaster Classic, the Super Bowl of pro bass fishing, gets underway today in South Carolina. Best hunch bet to win the 50-angler, three-day tourney on Lake Hartwell: Mike Wurm.

Trivia answer

Ben Hogan in 1953. He did not compete in the PGA Championship that year because it overlapped with the British Open.

And finally

From Greg Cote of the Miami Herald: “Monica Seles officially announced her retirement five years after playing her last match. What’s next? A retirement confirmation from Evonne Goolagong?”

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pete.thomas@latimes.com