Apollo Boxers Have Tough Act To Follow

The Apollo Theater, the legendary 84-year-old Harlem music hall where Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith and other famous entertainers performed, will be turned into a boxing arena Nov. 1 when heavyweight Lou Savarese (36-1), whose only loss was to George Foreman last April, fights David Izon (16-3).

“This is a historic condition,” said Grace Blake, executive director of the theater. “We’ve never had a boxing match at the Apollo.”

The closest was an appearance there by Sugar Ray Robinson, who skipped rope and tap-danced, a better attraction than most fights.

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Trivia time: How many quarterbacks have led teams to college national championships and also won in the Super Bowl?

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The other side: Barry Bonds may be an irritant much of the time, but the San Francisco Giants’ outfielder is a gracious loser.

After the Florida Marlins had eliminated his team from the playoffs, Bonds sent baskets of fruit and congratulatory cards to Marlin Manager Jim Leyland and the coaches he had brought with him from Pittsburgh.

Bonds played for them at Pittsburgh before going to San Francisco.

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Soccer stock: Of 18 English and Scottish soccer clubs on the London stock exchange, only Manchester United and Birmingham City have improved their share prices since April.

While most clubs had significant drops in value, United’s share increased from $10.50 to $10.78 and Birmingham City’s share rose less than half a cent to 75 cents.

The biggest drop was felt by Sunderland, which went from $9.04 to $5.30.

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Better than Qualcomm: For $42 million, the American Airlines Arena, future home of the Miami Heat, will have a life-sized silhouette of a jet and company logo on the roof, which will be visible to travelers flying in and out of Miami International Airport.

The company logo will be on refreshment stand counters, thousands of small jets will be on carpets, and the seat upholstery pattern consists of A’s.

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Minus factor: Florida Panther defensemen have scored three goals this season--but only once into the opposition’s net. Gord Murphy and Paul Laus have deflected shots into their own net. Murphy got one back with a goal for the Panthers.

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Trivia answer: Two. Joe Namath, Alabama in 1964 and the New York Jets in 1969, and Joe Montana, Notre Dame in 1977 and four Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers.

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Trivia addendum: Troy Aikman played quarterback on Oklahoma’s 1985 national championship team but broke his leg in the fourth game and was replaced by Jamelle Holieway. Aikman has won three Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys.

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And finally: Dennis Martinez has often been thought to have a political future in his native Nicaragua, but the former Cleveland and Baltimore pitcher says he’s not so sure about the idea.

“My wife said, ‘If you go into politics, you’re going to get shot the next day.’ She’s probably right. I wouldn’t be able to keep my mouth shut.”