Gibson Is Back in His Environment

Kirk Gibson, 41, has become a leading environmentalist in Michigan, working for nonprofit organizations to clean up the Clinton River watershed and Lake St. Clair.

The always competitive Gibson challenges others to do likewise.

“I invited anyone to get involved,” he told Emilia Askari of the Detroit Free Press. “I want people to get off their butts and stop complaining.”

A father of four, nature lover Gibson says, “They love to go out and look for frogs. If there are no frogs in my marsh, something’s wrong. You go down there in the spring, you see a lot. You see the owl scat. You see the bear scat.

“You see the tadpoles. You see where the deer have been laying under trees. You see what the beavers have been doing. It’s better than playing Nintendo 24 hours a day.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the NCAA Division I record for free throws in a game?

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What’s his nickname? If Oakland Athletic minor league outfielder Eric Stuckenschneider makes the team, he will have the longest surname in major league history.

His name has 16 letters; the record of 13 is shared by such notables as William VanLandingham and Steve Wojciechowski.

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Slow and slower: Garth Woolsey of the Toronto Star says the Blue Jays shouldn’t expect too much on the basepaths from 6-foot-2, 261-pound Cecil Fielder, the designated hitter.

“Fielder’s got one gear, easily mistaken for a home-run trot,” Woolsey writes.

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Compensating: As the Bulls continue to falter, the volume of the music at Chicago’s United Center has risen, says Bernie Lincicome of the Chicago Tribune.

“Nothing is truer than this,” he said. “The poorer the NBA team, the louder the Village People.”

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Just another dump: Curtis Bunn of Cox News Service, on the United Center: “Without Jordan and Co., it’s like visiting the Sistine Chapel without the ceiling.”

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Ultimatum: Celtic Coach Rick Pitino, insisting his players remain in Boston during the off-season:

“And now we have a place where they can work out. And if they don’t want to make it their home, we’ll find another home for them.”

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Means nothing: Pittsburgh Penguin Coach Kevin Constantine: “Potential is synonymous with getting your [butt] kicked.”

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Trivia answer: Pete Maravich of Louisiana State, 30 of 31 against Oregon State on Dec. 22, 1969.

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And finally: Jim McCabe of the Boston Globe, on Craig Stadler meeting Colin Montgomerie in the first round of the Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship at La Costa:

“The over/under for scowls has to be 30. On the front side, that is.”

The Walrus outscowled Monty and won, 5 and 3.