Nothing Flip About Ozzie’s Talk to Graduates

Ozzie Smith received an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from University of Missouri-St. Louis, and then as Dr. Earl Osborne Smith, the former St. Louis Cardinal shortstop delivered the commencement speech to the summer graduating class.

He told students and their family members and friends he believed life should be lived with passion. And he said such a moment of passion inspired his trademark back flip.

Graduate Noor Azleen said she didn’t know who Smith was, but “I feel motivated, and he gave me the spirit for more success in the future.”

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Trivia time: Tommy Armour was one of golf’s greatest players in the 1930s and Tommy Armour III is a current touring professional. What was Tommy Armour II’s profession?

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One is enough: Jose Cruz Jr. had one good reason to be happy he was traded from the Seattle Mariners to the Toronto Blue Jays. “In Seattle, where I was playing with Ken Griffey Jr., I was called ‘Junior Junior,’ ” Cruz said. “Now I’m just Junior.”

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Lost something: From Jerry McGee’s NFL scouting report in the San Diego Union-Tribune: “George Jones has been running well, but the former San Diego State athlete hasn’t always taken the football with him, which has him in a bit of disfavor in Pittsburgh.”

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Enough said: Movie reviewer Gene Siskel gave Shaquille O’Neal two thumbs down for his performance in “Kazaam” and told NBA Inside Stuff his reasons: “I’d rather watch Shaq brick free throws than see ‘Kazaam’ again. The big guy looks like a load of Lakers laundry in his loose-fitting genie outfit.”

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Making it: After Green Bay Packer rookie kicker Brett Conway missed field-goal attempts of 32, 40 and 44 yards in his debut, he philosophized: “There are two ways to make it on ‘SportsCenter.’ You either do really good or you stink. I guess you know what I did.”

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Even-steven: In 1910, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Pirates played to an 8-8 tie. Each team had 38 at-bats, 13 hits, 12 assists, two errors, five strikeouts, three walks, one hit batsman and one passed ball.

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Changing times: Bjorn Borg used a wooden racket in winning Wimbledon five times and this is his reaction to using a graphite one today: “If you grow up with a wooden racket in your hand and it’s taken away, it’s like cutting your right arm off.”

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Collector’s item: The first issue of Sports Illustrated hit the newsstands 43 years ago this week with a 25-cent price tag. The cover showed Eddie Mathews of the Braves swinging at a pitch with Wes Westrum catching and Augie Donatelli umpiring in a game at Milwaukee’s County Stadium.

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Trivia answer: He was a doctor.

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And finally: Linebacker Mike Crawford of the Miami Dolphins enthralled the media with stories about having jumped off his parents’ house into a river and fighting a bear with his bare hands on a hunting trip. Asked if he had bungee-jumped, he was indignant.

“Why would I participate in anything where you wear a rope around you that could save your life?” the former Nevada player asked.