Morning briefing

Wie shares a link with a legend

Michelle Wie’s quintuple-bogey 9 in the U.S. Women’s Open on Thursday brought to mind another stupendous gaffe in golf 47 years ago -- one still celebrated today.

During the Los Angeles Open at Rancho Park in 1961, the great Arnold Palmer teed it up on the par-five ninth hole (it’s now the 18th at the public course).

He hit a good drive but hit his next four shots out of bounds. Finally he hit his 10th shot over the green, chipped on for 11 and putted out for a 12.

When he was later asked how he made 12, he reportedly quipped that he “missed a chip for an 11.” But other accounts quoted him as saying “I missed a 15-footer for an 11.”

No matter. Duffers everywhere can relate to his wry reaction and, if they play Rancho Park, they can see a plaque on the 18th tee that commemorates Arnie’s long day.

Trivia time

How many tournaments on the regular tour did Palmer win in his career, and how many of those were major titles?

Down and out

More bad news for the Detroit Tigers, still under .500 in the AL Central Division: Utility fielder Brandon Inge is on the disabled list after moving a pillow.

Inge has a pulled oblique muscle (that’s on the abdomen) that he aggravated while trying to move a pillow for his 3-year-old son. Inge, who had been catching and playing third base, first suffered the injury early this month.

“That’s just par for the year right there,” Inge told MLB.com. “That’s unbelievable.”

The Detroit Free Press said that when Tigers Manager Jim Leyland was told of Inge’s pillow problem, Leyland said: “That’s a first.”

‘No matter what’

Any Dallas Cowboys fans who believe in the “Jessica Jinx” better brace themselves.

You remember the “Jinx.” After the Cowboys lost to Philadelphia in December, some pointed to the luxury suites, where singer Jessica Simpson -- who had started dating Dallas quarterback Tony Romo -- watched the game dressed in a pink Cowboys jersey.

A month later, after the pair enjoyed a Mexico getaway, Dallas lost an NFL divisional playoff game to the New York Giants, prompting a tearful Terrell Owens to come to Romo’s defense.

Simpson later told Glamour magazine that blaming her for Romo’s struggles was “ludicrous.” And Wednesday on the television show “The View,” she said she’ll be back.

“When the season comes around,” Simpson said, “I’m going to be at the games, no matter what.”

Plenty of legroom

The Summer Olympic Games haven’t even started, but the bed that will be used by 7-foot 6-inch Chinese basketball star Yao Ming in the Olympic village is up for sale.

Yao’s bed is only one of about 200 items of Olympic memorabilia that already are up for auction in online bidding, the official China Daily newspaper reported.

Other items include coffee tables and closets from the village along with sports equipment, electrical fittings and even pieces of land.

Yao, the Houston Rockets’ center, is one of China’s most popular athletes. “The bidding will be hot,” said Xiong Yan, president of the China Beijing Equity Exchange.

Trivia answer

Palmer won 62 times -- now fifth on the career wins list -- from 1955 to 1973, a list that includes four Masters, the U.S. Open and two British Opens.

And finally

The thrill of victory was a tad much for pitcher Brandon Burke after his Fresno State Bulldogs pulled off their stunning upset in the College World Series.

After the final out, the players leapt on each other -- in this case it was called a “dog pile,” of course -- and “I was just under there getting crushed,” Burke told the Fresno Bee.

Added Burke: “I was like, ‘Guys, I know we just won and all, and that’s great, but could you get off me?’ ”

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james.peltz@latimes.com