Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn lives!
Rockies reliever Adam Ottovino, entering the June 25 game against the Dodgers in the seventh with a two-run lead, threw four wild pitches in one-plus inning — and five runs scored on them.
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Nicknames in the game
Major League Baseball has announced that they will allow players to wear nicknames on their jerseys for one weekend in August.
Bartolo Colon — if he manages to latch on with another team by then — has first dibs on “He Hit Me.”
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Crash Davis alert
Mets farmhand Tim Tebow hit his fourth career minor league homer Wednesday, passing Michael Jordan on the all-time list.
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Letter rip
The World Taekwondo Federation has shortened its name to World Taekwondo because of the “negative connotations” of its WTF acronym.
“No comment,” said a spokesman for League of Legends.
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Paging Jed Clampett
Can’t wait for the Web.com Tour’s Ellie Mae Classic in Hayward, Calif., Aug. 3-6.
Rumor has it the toughest water hazard is a cement pond.
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It pays to eat
Cowboys rookie D-lineman Taco Charlton has signed an endorsement deal with the Texas-based Taco Bueno restaurant chain.
“Some guys have all the luck,” said Pot Roast Knighton.
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Let it go
Duke guard Luke Kennard, chosen 12th in the NBA draft by the Pistons, is taking a lot of ribbing after ESPN revealed he has memorized every word from the dialogue of the Disney movie “Frozen.”
So when some hype-crazed broadcaster exclaims this guy has ice-water in his veins — well … no kidding.
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Going for the old
The London Daily Mail says a jet-powered mobility scooter was successfully tested, boasting a top speed of 70 miles-per-hour.
So if NASCAR was ever thinking about starting a senior circuit …
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Talking the talk
—Blogger Chad Picasner, on Aaron Judge being the only Yankee not in a batting slump: “As the Yankee Stadium crowd says when Judge comes up: ‘All rise.’ But when the rest of team hits, it’s ‘Remain seated.’ “
—Headline at TheKicker.com: “Magic Johnson holds Lonzo high above Laker Nation like Simba in ‘Lion King.’ “
—Brad Dickson of the Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald, after SI.com ranked all of Rocky Balboa’s opponents: “Who says that sports websites don’t cover boxing?”
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Bigger diapers, please
A woman in Lexington, S.C., just gave birth to a 14.4-pound boy.
Nosy neighbors figured as much when Dabo Swinney, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer all showed up for the baby shower.
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Hold that Tiger
A 23-year-old Missouri grad caused $100,000 in damage when he drove his Volkswagen Passat through barricades and onto the floor the Tigers’ basketball arena.
Possible charges include burglary, property damage and three seconds in the key.
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More headlines
—At Fark.com: “FIFA concludes Russian bid committee that destroyed their computers immediately after winning did nothing corrupt. Seems legit.”
—At TheOnion.com: “Stanley Cup visits hometown ore mine during road trip through Pennsylvania.”
—At TheKicker.com: “Chris Paul displeased to find D’Antoni’s son is backup point guard.”
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Shear stubbornness
A California man went to Disneyland 2,000 days in a row.
Hey, if you were really that fixated on repeatedly seeing a Mickey Mouse outfit in southern California, wouldn’t Rams season tickets be cheaper?
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Quote marks
—Eric Kolenich of the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch, after QB Derek Carr was given a record $25 million-a-year contract extension: “Apparently the Raiders are getting in the gambling mood ahead of their move to Las Vegas.”
—Comedy writer Tim Hunter, after Mark Zuckerberg claimed that Facebook can fill the societal role that Little League once did: “Great — can’t wait to experience Facebook parents!”
—Mike Bianchi of the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel, after the Cavaliers fired GM David Griffin: “Who’s going to make LeBron’s coffee in the morning?”
—RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com, after the NHL’s Las Vegas Golden Knights made 10 trades on the day of the expansion draft: “Not everything that happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”
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Paging Ted Williams
“Is it cold in here, or is it just me?” wrote Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle after giving cryotherapy treatments — popular with pro athletes — a three-week try. “It’s minus-190 or so, but hey, it’s a dry cold.
“Diversion is the key. I try to come up with a Cryotherapy All-Star team. I get George ‘Iceman’ Gervin, Red ‘The Wheaton Iceman’ Grange, the old Pirates infielder Gene Freese, Vida Blue, Larry Burright, Stone Cold Steve Austin, J.T. Snow, Cool Papa Bell and Chili Davis.”
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They said it
—Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun, on last week’s NHL draft: “This doesn’t happen often: Tampa Bay drafted a player from St. Petersburg. Russia, that is.”
—ABC’sJimmy Kimmel, on the importance of the NBA draft: “Because it helps decide which teams the players will be on when they lose to the Golden State Warriors next year.”
—Bob Molinaro in the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, on ABC reviving the decades-ago “Battle of the Network Stars” with 10 new episodes this summer: “There are some things you never want to come back. Pet rocks. Disco. Bad oysters.”
—Jim Barach of WCHS-TV in Charleston, W.Va., after Magic Johnson called Lonzo Ball the “new face of the Lakers”: “Which is fine as long as that face doesn’t have the mouth of his dad.”
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Traveling call
Dwight Howard, just traded from the Hawks to the Hornets, is on his fifth team in seven years.
If NBA jerseys ever go the way of NASCAR driver’s suits, marketers say, we have a good fit for Beacon Moving & Storage.
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