After Clemson, Paris Is Paradise

Mikael Pernfors of Sweden had the crowd against him Friday as he dueled hometown favorite Henri Leconte in the semifinals of the French Open, but he said it didn’t bother him.

Pernfors is a former two-time NCAA tennis champion at the University of Georgia.

“It’s tougher to play at Clemson than here,” he said. “Here, if you hit a great shot, they applaud you. At Clemson, they hate you no matter what you do.”

How good a fisherman is Nebraska football Coach Tom Osborne?

Said Athletic Director Bob Devaney at a banquet: “Tom’s so good that a game warden once accompanied him to learn his technique.

“Tom took the game warden out to the middle of the lake, lit a stick of dynamite, threw it in the water and fish were flying everywhere.

“After a few minutes, he handed the game warden a stick of dynamite and said, ‘Are you going to fish or are you just going to sit there?’ ”

Trivia time: Who pitched the last game in the history of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the first game in the history of the New York Mets? (Answer below.)

In a labor dispute at a shipyard in Gijon, Spain, workers were firing nuts and bolts from catapults, and police were firing back with plastic bullets and tear gas. Suddenly, a cease-fire was called.

Reason: It was time for the World Cup soccer match between Italy and Argentina on television. The workers and policemen then joined to watch the match.

Oakland A’s rookie Jose Canseco, after meeting Mickey Mantle, told Joe Donnelly of Newsday: “He still seems thick and strong with well-developed muscles--like he still lifts weights.”

Says Mantle: “I never lifted weights in my life. Well, maybe a glass or two.”

Kevin McHale was asked how he will act if the Boston Celtics win the championship Sunday.

“It’ll be great for about 8 to 10 hours. We can all act crazy and yell and scream, and how many times can you hug a grown man on national TV? But it will all wear off, and reality will set in.

“I have to fly to Minnesota to pick up my kids, and I guarantee there won’t be many people at the airport there. They’re still upset the North Stars lost. Then, as soon as I get home, I’ll have to start changing diapers again.”

Add Celtics: Bill Walton, who wore a Grateful Dead T-shirt at one practice and one with “Dance for Disarmament” on it at another, was asked if he stayed up to watch the election returns from California.

“What? Me stay up and watch the Republican primary returns? No way,” he said.

Ken Denlinger of the Washington Post, on Ralph Sampson, who tuned up for Thursday night’s fight with Jerry Sichting of the Celtics by throwing haymakers at Maurice Lucas of the Lakers: “Incredibly, Sampson has thrown more punches than Gerry Cooney the last couple of weeks.”

Just asking: Have you noticed that Tom Heinsohn often prefaces comments by saying, “I tell ya.”?

Somebody decided to keep count Thursday night. Unofficial tally: 23 times.

Trivia answer: Roger Craig, now the manager of the San Francisco Giants. On Sept. 29, 1957, he was the loser as Philadelphia beat Brooklyn, 2-1. On April 11, 1962, he was the loser again as St. Louis beat the Mets, 11-4.

Quotebook

Pitcher Joaquin Andujar of the Oakland A’s, as he wandered away from a team stretching drill: “Babe Ruth never stretched.”