A baseball glove that Babe Ruth once gave to St. Louis Browns third baseman Jimmy Austin sold for $1.53 million — nearly four times the previous record for a mitt — at the 19th annual Louisville Slugger auction.
A gold glove, indeed.
Headlines
— At TheOnion.com: “Kyrie Irving alleges Kyrie Irving just CIA creation made to spread misinformation to American people.”
— At Fark.com: “NFL moves Browns vs. Bills game to city that would like to see a professional football game some day.”
On a personal note …
I will retire Dec. 3 after 23 1/2 years at The Seattle Times and 51-plus in the newspaper industry, so my final column will appear Sunday, Dec. 4.
Now we rejoin Sideline Chatter, already in progress …
Miraculous start
From the It’s Not How You Start But How You Finish file, comes word that celebrated broadcaster Al Michaels’ first television job was with Chuck Barris Productions in 1966, choosing female contestants for “The Dating Game.”
Slap-happy
UFC’s Dana White is creating slap-fighting league — in which two contestants trade slaps — called Power Slap, set to launch in 2023 with an eight-episode series that airs on TBS.
So will actor Will Smith be a first-round draft pick?
Almost all ears
Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield have teamed up to form an unlikely cannabis partnership to sell ear-shaped edibles called “Holy Ears.”
So what’s next, Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan teaming up to pitch billyclubs called “Knee Cappers”?
Tweet of the Week
“If the (3-6) Broncos had scored exactly 18 points in regulation of every game, they would be 8-1.” — @RyanKoenigsberg
That’s a sore site
Astros catcher Martín Maldonado, fresh off a World Series win over the Phillies, underwent surgery for a bothersome sports hernia in … Philadelphia?
The surgery went perfectly, according to reports, other than the loud booing outside his hospital room.
Laying it on thick
Dutch and Belgian police raided 24 farms in what DutchNews.nl called a major case of “manure management fraud” — that is, piling on much more fertilizer than allowed.
The farmers face possible charges of document fraud and conducting a boxing news conference without a license.
Out of bounds
Broncos linebacker Aaron Patrick tore his ACL trying to avoid an ESPN camera crewman.
Hornets guard LaMelo Ball twisted his ankle when he stepped on the foot of a fan sitting courtside.
Now that’s taking “getting sidelined” a bit too literally.
Talking the talk
— Barry Petchesky of Defector.com, on no one minding the store at Twitter: “You know what that means: It’s time to post rebroadcasts, retransmissions or accounts of games without the express written consent of Major League Baseball.”
— Janice Hough of LeftCoastSportsBabe.com, on Stanford’s football finale scheduled for an 8 p.m. kickoff — ensuring a finish well after 2 a.m. East Coast time: “Pac-12 WAY after dark.”
— David Hale of ESPN, after UConn — 10-50 from 2016-21 — became bowl-eligible under coach Jim Mora with a 36-33 win over Liberty: “Today, the flags at Bottom 10 headquarters fly at half-staff. Pour one out for U-Can’t.”
No experience necessary
When Jeff Saturday assumed the job of coaching the Colts, he did have to give up one thing — his fantasy football team, which he bequeathed to ex-WR Eric Decker.
No word on whether Decker had any previous experience as a fantasy GM.
Quote marks
— 49ers tackle Mike McGlinchey, to AP, on the team drafting him ninth overall instead of a flashier player such as safety Derwin James: “Most people wanted him here and not me, if I remember correctly. So sorry for the socks and underwear that they got for Christmas in 2018.”
— Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, to reporters, after the Commanders knocked his team from the unbeaten ranks, 31-21: “We played like crap. … We made our own luck today, and it was bad.”
— Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, to reporters, when asked about his relationship with NFL referees: “It’s not monogamous.”
— Bill Reiter of CBSsports.com, on the 3-10 Lakers: “The Lakers’ season was cooked before the Thanksgiving turkey even hit the oven, before the stuffing was made and before the pumpkin pie was baked. (Apologies to Chick Hearn.)”
Homebodies
Golden State has started its NBA season 0-8 in away games.
Well, there went any plans for a Road Warriors marketing campaign.
Quote, end quote
— Tim Hunter of KRKO Radio, on reports that home births are at the highest levels in 30 years: “I’m wondering if that’s a conscious choice, or if there were too many, ‘OK, I know your water broke, but there’s only 2 minutes in this game and they’re at the 50-yard line!’ ”
— David Whitley of the Gainesville (Fla.) Sun, with an election update: “Nevada and Arizona … just finished counting their 1997 Heisman ballots. It now appears Peyton Manning might have enough votes to overcome Charles Woodson’s lead.”
— Nick Canepa of the San Diego Union, on dynastic teams becoming a casualty of NFL parity: “ ‘Great’ is on IR and looks like it may retire.”
— Mike Bianchi of the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel, on complaints about TV and big money holding too much sway in college football: “That battle was lost long ago when people were still using phone booths and sending handwritten letters.”
