Smith’s Mind Plays Tricks on His Body

Emmitt Smith, the Dallas Cowboys’ $48-million man, is 27, but as he explained to Fox NFL reporter Pam Oliver, that’s only part of the story.

“My body feels like it’s 35, but mentally I feel like I’m 24,” said Smith, who is out two to four weeks because of ankle and knee injuries. “I figure if I make my mind think I’m still young, my body will respond to what my mind’s telling it.

“Year after year, it gets harder and harder. We’ve played more games in the last four years than anybody in the NFL. Those extra games make for a bunch of extra wear and tear on the body.”

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Trivia time: Who is the only manager to win the World Series with the same team but in three different home ballparks?

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Payback: After the Oakland Athletics’ Geronimo Berroa hit four home runs off Minnesota pitching during a three-game series, Twin Manager Tom Kelly said, “We’ve done a lot of favors for that young man. He ought to send our catchers a check when he gets his bonus next year.”

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Good plan: Jet skier Minoru Kanamori was recently tossed into the Columbia River when rough water swamped his runabout while he was leading during a race.

“I stay under water for five seconds,” Kanamori said. “I look up and boats going whoosh on one side and whoosh on the other. I decided it was safer to stay under water until they all go by.”

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Homesick Brownie: Baltimore Raven center Steve Everitt wears a Cleveland Browns’ bandanna under his Raven helmet.

“I’ve got a lot of people back in Cleveland I still talk to and I wanted them to know I haven’t forgotten them,” Everitt told Tony Grossi of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer.

Tackle Tony Jones said, “I know he’s going to get fined [by the NFL], but it was nice to see.”

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Kids like it too: NFL games attract fans of all ages, according to a survey by A.C. Nielsen. The survey indicated that 113 million people watched NFL games during an average weekend last year.

Breaking it down somewhat, the survey reported that 12.5 million children ages 2-11 viewed NFL football each week.

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Horsy trend: Women’s equestrian will become the 20th intercollegiate sport at Fresno State. The university already has a horse arena on campus and as many as 60 women are expected to turn out.

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Trivia answer: The Dodgers’ Walter Alston, 1955 with Brooklyn, in Ebbets Field; 1959 in the Los Angeles Coliseum, and 1963 and 1965, in Dodger Stadium.

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And finally: On this day in 1951, owner Bill Veeck of the St. Louis Browns gave about 1,000 fans behind his dugout YES and NO placards, giving them a say in the strategy of the game. The fans flashed the cards when advised what the coaching staff’s strategy was, and it worked as St. Louis beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 5-3.