Winning Again After Losing His Teeth, His Title and His Job

Here’s one from the had-to-happen file: Leon Spinks is making a comeback.

Spinks, 38, who flashed into boxing history by taking the heavyweight title from Muhammad Ali in 1978 and then flamed out, is 2-0 since returning to the ring last year. In his most recent bout, on March 1, he gained a split decision over somebody named Andre Crowder.

“You’ve seen guys like George Foreman, Larry Holmes, ‘Boom Boom’ Mancini come back, and a lot of them are in this for the money,” Spinks told W.H. Stickney Jr. of the Houston Chronicle. “That’s not my bag. . . . My main goal is to get the title back.”

On the other hand, money apparently is at least part of Spinks’ motivation. Seems the boxing bug bit him just about the time he lost his job as a greeter at the Chicago restaurant owned by Coach Mike Ditka of the Chicago Bears.

Trivia time: Since 1970, seven quarterbacks have been the top selection in the NFL draft--Terry Bradshaw, Jim Plunkett, Steve Bartkowski, John Elway, Vinny Testaverde, Troy Aikman and Jeff George. Which one threw for the most yards in his first two NFL seasons?

Old news: The most talked-about happening of last week’s Newsweek Champions Cup tennis tournament at Indian Wells was the postmatch news conference held by second-round loser Goran Ivanisevic.

Among the opinions stated by Ivanisevic was his notion that Palm Springs is boring because it is inhabited by so many senior citizens. Going to a restaurant in Palm Springs, Ivanisevic said, caused him to worry that some of the people “who were like 100 or 150 years old” would die during dinner.

After Ivanisevic’s comments were given extensive news play, according to one story making the rounds, an elderly couple was leaving a Palm Springs area restaurant when one said to the other: “Well, we made it.”

King of the road: Aspiring NASCAR driver and Atlanta Falcon Coach Jerry Glanville told Jonathan Ingram of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he wants to drive a black car “with a Falcon logo on the side and Elvis riding in the back seat.” Circumstances being what they are, Glanville will have to settle for an “Elvis Lives” bumper sticker.

No fumbling these lines: Quarterback Jim Kelly of the Buffalo Bills is scheduled to appear in two episodes of the soap opera “General Hospital” next week Wednesday and Thursday. He wasn’t exactly given a demanding role. Playing himself on the show, he suffers a concussion and has to be rushed to--where else?--General Hospital.

Taste the success: Dan LeBatard of the Miami Herald reports that outfielder Danny Tartabull of the New York Yankees owns more than 600 barrels of wine, which he stores at his homes in Santa Monica and Miami Lakes, Fla. According to Tartabull, the value of the wine--currently $25,000--should double in 10 years. Considering Tartabull’s salary, $25.5 million over five years, he could probably pop a few corks without feeling guilty.

Add taste: Tartabull’s father, Jose, played nine years in the major leagues and is now a minor league hitting coach in the Kansas City Royals’ organization. But Danny says he wouldn’t be where he is if it weren’t for his mother, Maria.

“She’s still the boss,” he said. “I went to the (Florida) Keys last year and bought a T-shirt that she thought was distasteful. She told me not to wear it in public again. I’ll tell you something else, too. If I did wear it again, she would probably pull me by the ear.”

Why not every night? Suzyn Waldman of WFAN radio in New York has sung the national anthem at 20 Knick games, and the Knicks have won all 20.

Trivia answer: George, who has thrown for 5,062 yards in his first two seasons for the Indianapolis Colts. George also has the best two-year completion mark, 57.8%, among the seven quarterbacks who went first in the draft.

Quotebook: Former Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Oriole relief pitcher Kevin Hickey, on the state of his career: “Things are going so bad that I tried to stay at Motel 6 and they’d turned the light off.”