The Pedestrian Truly Was Born to Be Wild

The headline read: “Bikers collide with bear.”

You might forgive readers of the Clock, a student newspaper at Plymouth College in New Hampshire, if they could barely believe their eyes when they saw this story recently.

It seems two riders were coming down a hill when they struck a black bear that had jumped over the guardrail. Presumably, fur flew.

Anyway, bicycle riders Chris Gadbois and Greg Peruzzi were injured and the tires of their bicycles were flattened.

The bear, whose weight was estimated at 500 pounds by police, left the scene of the accident. He was not ticketed.

Trivia time: What do Jessica Lange, Loni Anderson, Eddie Albert, James Arness, Bob Dylan, Prince, Kevin McHale and Garrison Keillor have in common?

What’s in a name? Carl Barger, the Florida Marlins’ president who has been outspoken in his opposition to a possible move by the Seattle Mariners to Florida, hired a new vice president this week. His name? Jonathan Mariner.

Nice question: “Downtown” Julie Brown of MTV asked Buffalo Bills’ kicker Scott Norwood if he walked on hot coals to toughen up his kicking foot.

Add Norwood: From the St. Paul Pioneer Press: What kind of golf club slices to the right? A Nor-Wood.

Nice answer: A Spanish TV reporter asked Redskin quarterback Mark Rypien to say something in Spanish. Said Rypien: “Me llama es Mark.”

Fish story: Redskin linebacker Monte Coleman wasn’t too sure what to think of teammate Chip Lohmiller’s idea of going ice fishing while in Minnesota.

“I think he’ll have to come up with about $250,000 in life insurance,” Coleman said. “But if he wants to go, I’ll probably go. It’s an experience. I can either die or catch a fish.”

Get a map: Chamber of Commerce director Brenda Rains said her office has received calls for about six months from people wanting tickets to the Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. Rains works in Albertville, Ala.

Good company: For what it’s worth, the Bills’ Thurman Thomas is the first player since Hall of Famer Jim Brown to lead the NFL in combined yards from scrimmage--rushing and pass receiving--for three consecutive seasons.

Border dispute: The Canadian Football League is reportedly looking to expand, possibly to Memphis, Albany, N.Y., or Portland, Ore.

Draw: Maryland is the top-ranked women’s basketball team in the country. The Terrapins are averaging 574 fans per game.

House of wax: The Hollywood Wax Museum counted 3,141 names of people from Michigan on its guest list for the week of Jan. 1, which is believed to be another Rose Bowl record.

Trivia answer: They are all from Minnesota.

Quotebook: Washington linebacker Matt Millen, when asked if he thought he would be put on the protected list after the season: “Maybe the endangered-species list.”