‘Baywatch,’ Yes, but What About the Bay?

The Detroit Red Wings have been making mini-vacations out of their trips to California. On their most recent junket they stayed in Santa Monica while playing games in San Jose, Anaheim and Inglewood.

“For the last few years, the trips have become a bit of a reward,” said Jimmy Devellano, senior vice president. “A chance for the players to enjoy themselves, play some golf, have dinner together, take walks around town, instead of having to grind so much.”

Rookie forward Tomas Holmstrom had a special reason for enjoying his trip west.

“My favorite part was meeting Pamela Anderson,” he told Cynthia Lambert of the Detroit News. “We saw her at Universal Studios. That was nice.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the USC record for longest interception return?

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Always out in front: Elmo Langley died of a heart attack last week when he and NASCAR drivers were in Japan. Langley, 68, was a throwback to an earlier era. He drove in 532 Winston Cup races and won only two, but he was always thinking positive.

“I might not have won much, but I led more races than any driver who ever lived,” he said a year ago while tooling a couple of reporters around Darlington Raceway.

You see, Langley drove the Winston Cup pace car at every race for the last seven years.

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Looking back: On this day in 1956, Floyd Patterson knocked out Archie Moore in the fifth round to win the world heavyweight boxing championship--the only one at the time--in Chicago.

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Trophy talk: From Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News: “Orlando Pace of Ohio State is the best college football player in the country and if he doesn’t win the Heisman, then the Heisman has officially turned into the most famous hood ornament in sports.”

Don’t count on it, Mike. Offensive linemen don’t do well in Heisman voting.

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Part the sea: What do they think of Bill Walsh in San Francisco?

After Chronicle reporters saw Walsh conferring with 49er offensive coordinator Marc Trestman during last weekend’s game with the Washington Redskins, they asked Trestman what was said. When Trestman replied that Walsh had suggested a play that might work, this was the Chronicle’s response:

“No big deal, except it’s Bill Walsh, so it’s a little like Moses saying, ‘Folks, take a look, see if you think any of these commandments might work.’ ”

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Trivia answer: Bud Langley, 99 yards, for a touchdown against Notre Dame in 1936.

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And finally: Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bulls and one of the most powerful men in sports: “I work hard. And I have above-average intelligence. And I always keep my word.”