Throwing Down a Jab From the Space Needle

So it has come to this . . .

Bud Withers writing in the Seattle Times: “Since 1990, the USC and UCLA football programs have combined for five losing seasons. In the category of having a lot and throwing it away, that’s an accomplishment rivaled only by people like Todd Marinovich and Robert Downey Jr.

“Particularly in Seattle, where the [Washington] Huskies haven’t had a losing season in a quarter-century, the L.A. schools are always a subject of intense curiosity . . . more often for what they don’t do, rather than what they do.”

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Trivia time: What are the oldest individual track records in events being contested today in the UCLA-USC men’s dual meet?

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Star power: Barry Palm, executive director of the PGA Tournaments Assn., an organization that oversees all PGA tournaments, evaluating Tiger Woods’ impact on tournaments to Darren Rovell of ESPN.com:

“If [Woods] plays in your tournament, the trickle-down ramifications in terms of tickets, as well as food, beverage and merchandise, is in the $400,000 to $500,000 range.”

Rovell: “Other tournament directors calculate the Woods factor to be worth as much as $1 million.”

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Growing old fast: Rick Pitino, the former coach of the Boston Celtics and the new coach at the University of Louisville, has another role as part owner of Kentucky Derby entrant A P Valentine. Commenting on professional basketball, Pitino concluded it’s a dog’s life.

“You age seven years to one,” he said.

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Bulls an old habit: Jerry Greene in the Orlando Sentinel: “According to the NBA, the Magic are among the top 10 teams in apparel sales, although the league does not list the order. The other teams:

“Miami, New York, L.A. (no, not the Clippers), Minnesota, Indiana, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Toronto and Chicago. Gee, I wonder why anyone still buys Bulls’ jerseys?”

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Aw, that’s his game face: A report from the San Francisco Chronicle: “To his surprise, Raider Coach Jon Gruden made People magazine’s ’50 Most Beautiful People’ issue.

“Says Chris Inglis of San Carlos: ‘I seriously question whether the selectors have ever seen Gruden’s face on third and 22.’ ”

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Vicious: A sign greeting Yankee left fielder Chuck Knoblauch in Minneapolis--he’s a former Twin--referred to the throwing yips that cost him his second base spot: “Chuck--You wish you threw like a girl.”

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Trivia answer: 200 meters, 20.03 seconds, USC’s Clancy Edwards; and 800 meters, 1:46.47, USC’s Rayfield Beaton, 1978.

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And finally: Tom FitzGerald of the San Francisco Chronicle says that sports figures are sometimes out of touch with popular culture:

“When the late Art Rooney, a major figure in horse racing as well as being the owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, was waiting for his car after the memorial service of Los Angeles Ram owner Carroll Rosenbloom in 1979, he was approached by a man who complimented him on his efforts in horse racing.

“ ‘He’s a nice fellow,’ Rooney later said to assistant Ed Kiely. ‘What does he do?’

“The man was Cary Grant.”