THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 8, 1994 TAG: 9407080750
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
In passing: It's truly amusing to hear Darryl Strawberry's rebound attempt with the Giants characterized as ``his last chance.'' Does the name Steve Howe ring a bell?
The Mookster speaks: Mookie Wilson, on the troubles of former New York Mets teammates Strawberry and Dwight Gooden: ``I see both of them coming back, but coming back to what? None of us come back to what we were. And in the case of these two guys, they weren't where they were when they left.''
Colorized: Since the start of the World Cup, my kids don't listen to what I say unless I threaten them with a yellow card.
Name game: His fans refer to Italian soccer star Roberto Baggio as ``the divine pony tail.'' I don't make these things up.
Isn't it rich: Why shouldn't there be a public outpouring of sympathy for O.J. Simpson? Which one of us can't identify with a man who takes his Rolls Royce past the drive-through window at McDonald's?
Freeloader: I have this feeling that there's more to the story of Kato, the Simpson house guest, than anyone wants us to know.
Time is right: If she insists on quitting, Martina Navratilova should exit tennis on the high tide of good feeling and tradition created at picturesque Wimbledon, rather than risk an early-round dismissal amid the industrial-park ambience of Flushing Meadows.
Money talks: Contrary to conventional wisdom, organizers of the Major League Soccer experiment in America are being hurt by the success of the U.S. World Cup team. Seems that the U.S. players the new league covets most are commanding salaries in Europe and Mexico that Major League Soccer can't afford. Eric Wynalda, for instance, just signed with a German club for a reported $350,000 a year.
Show-biz kid: U.S. goalkeeper Tony Meola is headed to Hollywood for a shot at TV and movies. Hey, Tony Danza isn't getting any younger.
Weather watch: If tradition holds, this heat wave will break as soon as the Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic is over.
The data is in: Thirteen years of mostly poor fields and insufferable temperatures are proof enough that the Kingsmill tournament should be moved to another time of year or dropped from the schedule all together.
Another idea: You know, of course, that a senior-citizen tournament featuring the likes of Lee Trevino and Chi Chi Rodriguez would go over better at Kingsmill than one featuring a brigade of bland, blond bashers.
He keeps on going: Only Greg Norman has won more money on the regular PGA Tour this year than Trevino has won on the senior tour.
A world view: Suddenly, South Africa looks to be the capital of professional golf. In the past three weeks, South Africans have won the U.S. Open, the Senior Open and the last two PGA Tour events.
The new order: Free agency is good for pro football players, but not for fans who want to keep track of who plays where. As the start of training camps approaches, only two teams in the NFC are expected to have the same starting and backup quarterbacks this season as they did in 1993.
Wish list: The Knicks are trying to get New Yawker Chris Mullin in a trade with Golden State. A Knick who can shoot? Now there's a novel idea.
Wardrobe Dept.: The new ownership of the Baltimore Orioles is changing the team's uniforms for next year. Since the color and classic style of the O's business suits can't be improved, you can assume the franchise is making the move strictly for merchandising reasons.
Bjorn again: At 38, Bjorn Borg is playing for the Atlanta Thunder in World Team Tennis. It could be worse. Like John McEnroe, he could be in the broadcast booth. by CNB