They’re set to tear into Rodriguez

The Wheeling Nailers, a minor league hockey team in West Virginia, are running a “Shred Rich Rodriguez� promotion Saturday night.

The club is offering discounted tickets to any fan who brings in a newspaper article or picture of the former West Virginia football coach who left the Mountaineers for Michigan. The articles and photos will be placed in a paper shredder.

Ohio State fans will receive the discount by wearing their gear to the game to demonstrate distaste for Michigan; any fan wearing University of Michigan apparel will be charged double.

Additionally, any fans named Rich Rodriguez will be admitted free.

“Except, of course, if you actually are Coach Rich Rodriguez,� a press release from the team read.

“Then you will be barred from the building and escorted outside state lines.�

Trivia time

Rodriguez is the 11th Michigan football coach since 1901. Who had the shortest tenure?

Cub reporter

Nine-year-old Brock Domann of Colorado Springs, Colo., was sent to cover the Super Bowl for Scholastic News, and made quite an impression Tuesday at media day.

Standing among a mass of reporters near Eli Manning, Domann got in his question: “When you and Peyton Manning were kids and playing football, who was QB?� the youngster asked.

A grown-up reporter tried to butt in with another question, but Manning waved him off.

Then Manning told the boy that when he played with Peyton and his older friends, he was “permanent center.� Big brother Peyton was the quarterback.

Over the hump

Princess, a football prognosticating camel, has picked the New York Giants to upset the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.

The camel makes her picks by selecting graham crackers out of the hands of John Bergmann, general manager of Popcorn Park Zoo in Lacey Township, N.J., where Princess has lived since 2004.

Bergman writes the names of competing teams on each cracker.

Her record this season is 19-8, including 8-2 in the playoffs. And that’s nothing to spit at.

He only looks old

More than 800 customers paid $15 each to attend Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden’s birthday party on Saturday, according to John Canzano of the Oregonian, but the guest of honor was nowhere to be found.

Oden’s team of agents was concerned over the way the event was promoted and the fact that its sponsor, Toyota, is a competitor of Chevrolet, which has an endorsement deal with Oden.

And, one other thing: Alcohol was being served.

It was Oden’s 20th birthday.

Yankee Stadium yard sale

Hall of Fame pitcher Whitey Ford is clearing out his trophy room and will auction off items during the All-Star game festivities at Yankee Stadium this summer.

Ford, 79, is offering items signed by Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle, among others. He has more than 200 items he will be selling, which he said represents about 60% of his collection.

“My wife’s thrilled this is happening,� Ford said. “Now, she’ll have some room in the house.�

Trivia answer

George Little replaced legendary Fielding Yost in 1924 and coached for one season in 1924. He went 6-2 then left to become athletic director at Wisconsin. Yost returned to the helm for two more seasons.

And finally

Horse trainer Bob Baffert, in an interview with Sirius satellite radio, was perplexed about how Santa Anita has canceled seven race days in the first five weeks of the current meeting because of weather-related problems with the track.

“Santa Anita’s like a car-wash,� Baffert said. “Every time it rains, they close.�

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