Little Things Added Up on His Card

Fred Raphael, who originated “Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf” series on television, recalls playing at Pine Valley, a difficult, exclusive course in New Jersey.

“Counting whiffs, lost balls and every other penalty, I shot 154,” Raphael said.

What Raphael didn’t know was that the balls that Gene Sarazen had given him were undersized British balls, which were not authorized for U.S. courses.

“A couple of weeks later, the member who got me on Pine Valley called to say the president of the club sent out a letter saying 28 illegal British balls were found in the rough and that anyone caught playing them would be kicked out of the club,” Raphael recalled.

“What should I tell him?” the member asked Raphael.

“Tell him to keep looking,” Raphael replied. “There are four more out there.”

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Trivia time: Who is the only player on a losing team to have been named most valuable player in the Super Bowl?

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Surprise: The reaction of Phoenix Sun Coach Danny Ainge when told that Steve Nash, a former Santa Clara star who is now a backup point guard in Phoenix, had been named to the NBA All-Star rookie game: “He did? How?”

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Bulletin! Department of really incidental information: Green Bay Coach Mike Holmgren wears a size 14 shoe; New England Coach Bill Parcells checks in at 10 1/2.

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Looking back: On this day in 1960, Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors set an NBA record for rookies with 58 points in a 127-117 victory against the Detroit Pistons. Chamberlain also took down 42 rebounds.

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Trivia answer: Chuck Howley of the Dallas Cowboys, after a 16-13 loss to the Baltimore Colts in 1971.

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And finally: Holmgren, talking to Art Spander of the Oakland Tribune about his disappointing USC football career as a reserve quarterback in the late 1960s:

“John McKay promised me they’d go away from the run and start throwing the ball. But we recruited O.J. Simpson, so obviously we weren’t going to do that. For a long time I was a little bitter. But when I became a coach and analyzed why it happened, I don’t have a quarrel anymore.”