Talk About Bad, It Doesn’t Get Much Worse Than This

Hockey training camps have opened and hockey writer Jeff Jacobs of the Hartford Courant wasted no time in expressing his feelings about Toronto Maple Leaf owner Howard Ballard and the National Hockey League franchise.

“American fans think (New York Yankee owner) George Steinbrenner is the most unreasonable, dictatorial owner in sports,� he writes. “Wrong. Toronto Maple Leaf owner Howard Ballard has the Boss beat by a country mile. They are the NHL’s worst, most disorganized franchise. And it won’t change until Ballard is gone.�

Jacobs’ tirade against Ballard cites treatment of General Manager Gord Stellick, who “in one week this summer was belittled so badly that (he) resigned,� and the handling of George Armstrong, who was forced to coach the team when he told everyone he didn’t want the job and then was fired after he reluctantly accepted it.

When Ballard hired Doug Carpenter as coach the next day, Jacobs quoted Ballard talking to Carpenter on the telephone: “If you tell me you have to think it over and call me back, don’t bother. It’s a two-year contract and, if you don’t like me, you can quit. If I don’t like you, I will fire you.�

Move over, George.

What friendship tour?That’s what some of the Calgary Flames are wondering after being swept Monday in their two-game series under that billing with the Czechoslovakian national team in Prague.

“It was a friendship tour for the first two shifts on the ice, and it hasn’t been since that,� Calgary’s Gary Roberts said after the competition.

Least friendly, according to the Flames, was Czech defenseman Leo Gudas, a pugnacious player who lashed out at several Flames and blew kisses at them as he passed their bench.

“He really got under our skin,� Coach Terry Crisp said.

Gudas tried to kick Calgary wing Jonas Bergqvist midway through the second period, leading to repeated retaliation by the Flames. Three Calgary players drew penalties in less than 2 1/2 minutes as they hooked, tripped and manhandled Gudas.

Gudas did have an explanation for his not-so-friendly behavior: “I’m not very popular in our league either,� he said through an interpreter.

Trivia time: Eric Dickerson of the Indianapolis Colts became the seventh player in National Football League history to reach 10,000 yards Sunday. He did it 91 games. How many games did yardage leader Walter Payton need to accomplish the feat?

On this date: On Sept. 12, 1979, Carl Yastrzemski got his 3,000th hit--a ground single off Jim Beattie--as the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 9-2.

On the same date in 1976, Minnie Minoso singled in three trips to the plate as the designated hitter for the Chicago White Sox. At 53, he became the oldest player to get a hit in a regulation game.

Roaring start: The Oregon Lottery, which gives players a chance to try to beat published point spreads on NFL games, had first-week sales of $221,000 for its Sports Action betting game, according to director Jim Davey.

Trivia answer: Payton reached the milestone in 113 games.

Quotebook: Deion Sanders, the Atlanta Falcons’ top draft pick, after a 68-yard punt return for a touchdown Sunday against the Rams: “I felt like a deer with a hundred hunters after me.�