Ford Can Drive Divots a Long Way

Chi Chi Rodriguez, at a pro-amateur tournament that also included Gerald Ford, said he can testify that the former President has a powerful swing.

“I might have been his first teacher,” Rodriguez said. “When he was the minority leader in the House, he used to come down to Puerto Rico.

“One day, he swung at the ball so hard that he must have taken a divot that weighed four pounds. Of course, the ball never moved, but the divot went a long way.”

Said Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mark Malone after retired linebacker Jack Lambert came to camp to do interviews for a Pittsburgh TV station: “What a mockery. He came in the locker room, and we quickly reminded him that the press wasn’t allowed in. I can remember there were times when he didn’t have a minute in his day for press people. It’s going to be interesting how some of the veterans that know him will treat him.”

Trivia Time: Thirty-five years ago today, Gil Hodges of the Brooklyn Dodgers hit four home runs against the Boston Braves to tie a major league record. Who else has hit four home runs in a game since 1900? (Answer below.)

Why doesn’t Pete Rose play against left-handed pitchers? Easy. The man he platoons with, Tony Perez, is hitting .338. Of course, Perez is younger. He’s 43. As an entry at first base, the graybeards are batting .290.

BYU quarterback Robbie Bosco told USA Today he had a lot of empathy for Boston College quarterback Shawn Halloran after the Cougars beat the Eagles, 28-14, Thursday night.

“I know exactly what it feels like for him to come and have to replace Doug Flutie,” Bosco said. “This time last year, I had to replace a guy named Steve Young.”

Oklahoma football Coach Barry Switzer told Steve Schoenfeld of the Dallas Times Herald he thinks he has a good one at quarterback in Troy Aikman.

Of the 6-3, 218-pound sophomore, Switzer: “We’ve never had anyone with his throwing ability. This summer, I went to the New York Giants camp and the Denver Broncos camp, and you can talk all you want about John Elway, but no one throws with more velocity than this kid.”

Would-you-believe-it dept.: According to Milton Richman of United Press International, Dwight Gooden is so dominant that they’ve changed the betting rules in Las Vegas.

Richman: “Instead of quoting a price on Gooden as they do with all the other pitchers in both leagues, the casino oddsmakers now oblige Gooden bettors to spot the other team a given amount of runs every time he pitches.”

Said oddsmaker Jackie Gaughan at the El Cortez: “The only other pitcher I can ever remember who we ever had to get runs with was Sandy Koufax. And that was only on certain occasions--like when he was going against a real weak team. But this guy Gooden is stronger than anyone, and the way he’s pitching, we’ve all been taking a pretty good bath.”

Trivia Answer: Lou Gehrig, Chuck Klein, Joe Adcock, Pat Seerey, Rocky Colavito, Willie Mays and Mike Schmidt. Klein and Schmidt did it 10-inning games. Seerey did it in an 11-inning game.

Quotebook

Golfer Peter Jacobsen, in a letter to the Portland Oregonian, taking John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors to task for refusing to play in Davis Cup because of a new code of conduct: “I’d love to see McEnroe join the PGA Tour, just so we could kick him out.”