Owner Trying to Make Old John Henry Happy

A lot of people were surprised by the announcement that 11-year-old John Henry might return to racing, but owner Sam Rubin said he’s just trying to keep the horse happy.

“He’s a gelding,” Rubin said. “There’s nothing else for him to do but race.”

Mel Stute, trainer of Kentucky Derby favorite Snow Chief, told Andrew Beyer of the Washington Post: “Let’s see, he won’t have raced in 27 days before the Derby. He won’t have a workout over the track. He doesn’t have the pedigree. No Cal-bred has won the Derby in 22 years. I’ve never won the Derby. He’s going to have to be a superstar to win it.

“And I think he might be.”

The Numbers Game: If your horse in the Kentucky Derby pool drew an outside post position, don’t fret. The last four winners have started from post positions 10, 15, 10 and 18.

Trivia Time: Richard T. Powers of La Mirada submits this one: What do Boston Celtics Coach K.C. Jones, Detroit Lions Coach Darryl Rogers and former Olympic decathlon champion Rafer Johnson have in common? (Answer below.)

From Boston Celtics guard Dennis Johnson, recalling when he played in the Dominguez High School backcourt with Dodger outfielder Ken Landreaux: “Kenny took all the shots. That’s why I’m not a shooter.”

Note: In the 1977-78 NBA final series between Seattle and Washington, Johnson set a playoff record by going 0 for 14 as the SuperSonics lost the deciding game to the Bullets. The following season, when the Sonics turned it around and beat the Bullets, he was named the MVP.

Boston Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens said he had trouble getting to sleep after his record 20-strikeout performance Tuesday night.

“I tried to count sheep like you’re supposed to,” he said. “Maybe I should have tried counting Ks.”

Green Bay Packers Coach Forrest Gregg told the Denver Post he wasn’t concerned that No. 2 draft choice Kenneth Davis was dropped from the TCU team for illegally accepting money.

“Not in the slightest,” Gregg said. “They didn’t offer me any money when I was at SMU, but as poor as I was, if they had offered me some money, I would have taken it.”

Most baseball people think Bo Jackson has a long way to go to make it to the major leagues, but Baltimore Orioles scout Doug Melvin told the New York Times: “The reports I have seen on him are outstanding. He has the tools to be a superstar. The two things a player of that caliber are born with are power and speed. He has both of them. At this point in his career, I would compare him to Dave Winfield or Kirk Gibson.”

Trivia Answer: All were drafted by the Rams in the lower rounds--Jones in 1955, Rogers in 1957 and Johnson in 1959. Rogers was a back at Fresno State.

Quotebook

Chick Hearn, explaining Wednesday night how the Lakers pulled it out: “Magic and Kareem became a one-man gang.”