This Tourist Needs a New Destination

Associated Press columnist Jim Litke doesn’t merely want Atlanta reliever and baseball’s current pariah John Rocker to reconsider taking the subway to Shea Stadium when the Atlanta Braves play the Mets this week.

Litke doesn’t think Rocker should go to New York at all.

“John Rocker’s desire to come to New York and face his demons is understandable. Almost admirable, in fact,” Litke writes. “But it’s also shortsighted, ill-timed, unnecessarily expensive and unlikely to do anyone any good--least of all Rocker.

“The last time a tourist arrived in Gotham this unprepared, it was Jack Lemmon in the 1970 comedy called ‘The Out-of-Towners.’ He played a guy who goes to New York for a job interview and ends up on a hellish train ride, gets fleeced by hustlers and chased by cops. The difference in real life is that all this could happen to Rocker too, and he might still have to pitch his way out of a bases-loaded jam in snarling, seething Shea Stadium.”

*

Trivia time: Which boxer knocked out three-time heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali?

*

It’s inevitable: Kevin B. Blackistone of the Dallas Morning News believes, good or bad, Mike Tyson’s histrionics after his Saturday “fight” against Lou Savarese will drum up interest for a bout against heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.

“Tyson is Tyson, never seen before. He is proving he is, indeed, the most brutal, most vicious, most ruthless champion, or former champion, there has ever been. And it is enough to get Mike Tyson a big-money payday with Lennox Lewis that most of us will be likely to cough up fifty bucks to see. We just won’t tell our neighbors.”

*

Clip and save: San Francisco 49er General Manager Bill Walsh expects quarterback Jeff Garcia to be a more than adequate replacement for the retired Steve Young.

“We think Garcia is an excellent quarterback,” Walsh said. “I personally believe he’ll be in the top 12 of all NFL quarterbacks. He has the same instincts as Joe [Montana] and Steve. He avoids well and moves well.”

*

For what it’s worth: Mel Kiper Jr., ESPN’s draft guru, lists two Trojans and one Bruin among his top five college senior football prospects eligible for the 2001 NFL draft. USC defensive tackle Ennis Davis and cornerback Antuan Simmons are ranked second and fifth. UCLA defensive end Kenyon Coleman is ranked third.

Kiper’s list was published before it was revealed Simmons might sit out the season after stomach surgery.

Mississippi running back Deuce McAllister is ranked first, while Penn State guard Kareem McKenzie is ranked fourth.

If Virginia Tech sophomore quarterback Michael Vick enters the draft next April “he would be the top pick,” Kiper told Buffalo News writer Larry Felser. “He’s the best player in college football.”

*

Trivia answer: Larry Holmes scored a technical knockout against Ali in the 11th round on Oct. 2, 1980. It was Ali’s only knockout loss in 61 fights.

*

And finally: From Terry Pluto, Akron Beacon Journal: “Lenny Wilkens feels like he went to heaven after taking the Toronto job. Not just because of his new five-year, $20-million contract, but he’s gone from coaching Isaiah Rider to Vince Carter. Talk about an upgrade.”