04/08/2001

Scattershooting while wondering whatever happened to Lenny Randle:

Troy Boy Aikman throwing out the first pitch for the Rangers was a stretch? Not all that much. As a schoolboy pitcher-infielder in Oklahoma, Aikman turned down a pro baseball bonus. ... Addendum: Many passers have baseball techniques, something to do with throwing motions, weight shifting to front leg and the follow through. ... Another NFL passer you may have heard of, chap named John Elway, actually spent a season in a minor league outfield. ... And then there was Daryle Lamonica, a schoolboy shortstop who nixed 50 grand from the Cubs to throw bombs for the Oakland Raiders. Joe Namath was offered same amount by the same club as American Legion slugger. ... Back to other Cowboy passers: Danny White was drafted by four major league teams as an Arizona State infielder. Still another quarterback was rated by scouts in the $60,000 bonus class when he outfielded at New Mexico Military, but instead, he chose a football career at Navy and Texas Stadium and is in the commercial real estate business around here someplace.

Oh yes, Bobby Layne won 33 games and pitched three no-hitters as a UofTexas right-hander before going on to a HallofFame qb career at Detroit and Pittsburgh. Historic passers Sonny Jurgensen, Paul Christman and George Shaw were also hotshot baseball prospects. And geezers may remember a rawhide TCU third baseman named Sammy Baugh. ... When you repeatedly read that Tony Banks signed with Your Heroes for only $500,000, with emphasis on the "only," can't you hear schoolteachers cry out in sympathy? ... If geezers wish to test memories, let them try to recall another Final Four with so much griping about officiating.

Mike Krzyzewski got the Duke (FF champ) job mainly on the recommendation of his former coach at West Point, bloke named Bob Knight, now The Law West of Cowtown. ... If Kentucky Derby prospects still seem foggy, best peel your eye on Saturday's Wood Memorial and this Monarchos, the Florida Derby winner and one of three lively colts owned by Oklahoman John Oxley. The oilman had two previous Derby entries, Jambalaya Jazz and Pyramid Peak, in the 1995 chase. They finished recently. ... Strange, for all the praise heaped on Shane Battier and his Duke heroics, there seems considerable doubt about his future as a pro thumper. You should hope not; the NBA could use more of what appears to be Battier's genuine character.

Monkey see, monkey do. After Ravens' Superbowl season, relying on defense, we may see more NFL teams consecrating their checkbooks – through draft and free agents – on defensive talents. ... For whatever copycat tendencies of pro braintrusts, there was one successful technique singularly uncopied by others. Tom Landry's Flex Defense made several Superbowls but other teams seemed to think, heck, with the personnel at Landry's disposal, the old 7-diamond or any defensive alignment would have been successful. ... Remember Bob Lilly's assessment of the Flex intricacies: "Finally by the time you understand it, you're too old to play it."... This is the time of year when our neighbor Jones realizes he must have planted the bulbs upside down.

Something in the sand and water? Seven Florida Marlins got married in the off-season. ... If grapevine is accurate, we should all get fired like Denny Crum at Louisville. He supposedly will draw $338,000 each of next 15 years as assistant developer or somesuch. Plus a $2 million termination clause. ... When you're caught up in the Dale Earnhardt emotion and tabbing the late driver as the best ever, remember that Richard Petty once won 10 stockcar races in a row and 27 in one year. ... Speaking of strings, as an 11-year-old Californian, Tiger Woods entered 33 junior golf tournaments. Won 33. ... Shelby Friedman, the postal pest, labels Strom Thurmond as The Old Man And D.C. Help! Help!

One hears much negative ado about college dribblers leaving campus early for NBA millions, but look at the stats. Leagues' current 12 highest scorers didn't finish their eligibility, and two – Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady – bypassed institutions of higher learning altogether for institutions of higher earning. ... So you won the lottery and want to retire to a Connecticut estate? Well, there's the Mike Tyson manor, 56,000 square feet and 18 bedrooms. Now a Las Vegas resident, Tyson has reduced asking price from $22 million to $12.9 million and now, $5 mil, maybe because it has only 38 bathrooms. ... And then there was the landlord who asked too much for the rent, like three times last week.