For Those Who Believe Golf’s a Boar

Larry Byrne was playing golf at the Oahu Country Club in Hawaii, when a member of his foursome shouted, “Look out, it’s charging.”

He looked up to see a black wild pig, about 150 to 200 pounds, running at him. “I used my carry bag like a matador uses a cape, putting it front of the pig, but it charged right through it,” Byrne told Golf World.

Byrne then hit the pig on the snout with his sand wedge. No effect. Then, he hit the pig again between the eyes. The pig wasn’t fazed.

So Byrne prudently climbed a tree, while his playing partners tried to chase off the pig. The pig wasn’t impressed, according to Byrne: “It looked at them, then sauntered off into the woods.”

Trivia time: Which two states had the highest percentage of residents, age 12 and older, playing golf in 1991?

Northern warning: Dan Barreiro of the Star Tribune of Minneapolis on owner Norman Green moving the NHL’s Minnesota North Stars to Dallas:

“There is one thing that Dallas should know about Green. He is slicker than a Texas oil field. He will tell you whatever you want to hear. He came to Minnesota boasting about a five-year plan. He plans to leave after 2 1/2.”

Fight on: With its fifth consecutive 20-victory season (20-9), UCLA is anticipating earning its fifth NCAA tournament berth in a row, no matter what happens this weekend in games at Arizona State and Arizona.

So how will the Bruins prepare for the remainder of their season?

“We’re just going to do some very, very simple things,” UCLA Coach Jim Harrick said. “Student Body Right, here we come. Stop us.”

Wrong school and wrong sport, Jim.

Looking back: On March 10, 1933, the New York Giants played an exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs in Los Angeles. After the game, a major earthquake struck. The Giants spent the night in a city park as 15 aftershocks followed.

Streak breaker: Don Barksdale, the former UCLA basketball player who died Monday, has a special niche in Bruin sports history. As a transfer from Marin Junior College in 1943, he played only five games for UCLA. However, he scored a game-high 18 points to lead UCLA to a 42-37 victory over USC at the old Westwood gym. It was UCLA’s first victory over USC in 11 years, snapping a 42-game Trojan winning streak.

Just wondering: Pete Rose, in an interview with Bill Madden of the New York Daily News: “I read where Frank Deford (editor of the defunct National sports daily) said that I was like a wino selling blood when I did all those autograph shows after I got out of prison. I wonder if he’d do it for $130,000.”

Trivia answer: Minnesota, at 20.4%, and Wisconsin, at 20.2%.

Quotebook: Comedian Dennis Miller: “In the original Olympics, they competed completely naked. That’ll cut down on your product endorsements.”