Piazza’s Stay Too Short for Him to Say So Long

Greg Cote of the Miami Herald, writing on Mike Piazza’s short tenure with the Florida Marlins:

“My, but time flies, don’t it? . . . Thanks for the memories, Mike. I’ll be looking forward to that retrospective--Piazza: The Marlin Minutes--airing on ESPN tonight from 8 to 8:01:30 p.m.

“You know how baseball lingo refers to a short stay as a ‘cup of coffee’? This fella wasn’t here long enough for the water to boil.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the NBA playoff record for the highest scoring average in one series?

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The new Babe: Tim Keown in the San Francisco Chronicle, on home run slugger Mark McGwire’s public appeal: “[McGwire] is the only athlete who draws a crowd to watch him practice.

“Think about this: Do people show up three hours early to watch Michael Jordan shoot free throws? Do they show up at 10:20 a.m. to watch Steve Young loosen up his throwing arm? Does Tiger Woods draw crowds of thousands at the driving range?”

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Much bigger baby: The wife of Akebono, the Hawaiian-born sumo wrestler, gave birth to a 7-pound 7-ounce daughter.

Said Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune: “But Akebono wants it made clear that he wears the diaper in the family.”

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Off the street: Tom Powers in the St. Paul Pioneer Press, on author Tom Clancy’s abortive bid to buy the Minnesota Vikings:

“Maybe we ought to run a financial check on the next person who bids $200 million. Maybe have him fill out a form or something. Just to make sure he’s not homeless and eating out of garbage cans.”

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Keep practicing: From the Gallery column in the San Diego Union-Tribune: “Outdoors Tale of the Week: Two friends decide to go duck hunting. Neither one has been duck hunting before and after several hours they still haven’t bagged any.

One hunter looks at the other and says, ‘I just don’t understand it--why aren’t we getting any ducks?’ The friend replies: ‘I keep telling you, I just don’t think we’re throwing the dog high enough.’ ”

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Looking back: On this day in 1994, Utah, with 10 points, and Houston, with 13, set an NBA playoff record for fewest points scored in the second quarter.

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Trivia answer: Jerry West of the Lakers, 46.3 points against Baltimore in 1965. The Lakers won the series in six games.

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And finally: There’s more to the recent story of the golfer in Haydenville, Mass., who got a hole in one after his tee shot flew over the green, hit a car and bounced back onto the green and into the cup.

While Todd Obuchowski and about 10 witnesses were celebrating his good luck, Nancy Bachan, the driver of the car, showed up and angrily demanded that Obuchowski pay to repair the dent in her car. He promised he would.

The bill, first estimated at $150, came to about $300. Jay Leno reimbursed Obuchowski for it on “The Tonight Show” on May 20.