Call it the luck of the Irish
Even Notre Dame, in the midst of its worst season ever, can suddenly stake a claim to No. 1.
The Fighting Irish have beaten UCLA, which beat Stanford, which beat USC, which beat Cal, which beat Tennessee, which beat Georgia, which beat Florida, which beat Kentucky, which beat newly top-ranked LSU. Notre Dame’s long-distance claim to No. 1 could be fleeting, however: The Irish host fellow 1-and-9er Duke on Saturday.
Booze clues
Snippet from some repartee between Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith on TNT’s “Inside the NBA”:
Barkley: “I was reading that heavy drinking is not good for your health, so I have to stop.”
Smith: “Stop drinking what?”
Barkley: “No, I gotta stop reading.”
Want to kick in?
Oregon State kicker Alexis Serna went 5 for 5 on field goals against Washington on Saturday, making him 18 for 18 in four Beavers wins over the Huskies.
And leaving UW fans to ask: Where do we send the graduation present?
Family spokesman
Danish rider Michael Rasmussen, expelled from the Tour de France for lying about his whereabouts when he missed random drug tests, now says he did it “for marital reasons.”
What, Mrs. R was threatening to recycle him?
Changing Tires Dept.
No. 1 bumper sticker among IRL drivers these days: “I brake for NASCAR.”
Musical cheers
Chiefs Hall of Fame linebacker Bobby Bell, 67, won Kansas City’s version of “Dancing with the Stars,” the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.
Thus inventing artificial-hip hop.
You go, Slugger
Oscar De La Hoya says he’d like to have a fight in Dodger Stadium, the Los Angeles Times reported.
No problem there, Oscar. Just show up at a Dodgers-Giants game wearing a Barry Bonds jersey.
Talko time
• David Thomas of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, on embattled Nebraska’s 73-31 win over Kansas State: “As far as Cornhuskers coach Bill Callahan is concerned, that’s like winning the last game of shuffleboard on the Titanic.”
• Greg Cote of The Miami Herald, adjusting his preseason Super Bowl pick of the Chargers over the Saints: “Knowing what we know now, let’s make it Patriots over Cowboys, or whichever NFC team is sent onto the field with a blindfold and a cigarette.”
Sacking a myth
The legend that Notre Dame football star George Gipp’s girlfriend bore his child just after his death in 1920 has been debunked by DNA tests that ruled him out as the father, a family member told an Alabama author.
Or as one giddy abstinence proponent put it: “Win One For The Zipper!”
Dwight Perry: 206-464-8250 or dperry@seattletimes.com