This Royal Wimbledon Treatment Is Bowing Out

The bow and the curtsy at Wimbledon have gone the way of V-neck sweaters and knee-length skirts.

The All England Club announced Tuesday that a bow or curtsy to the royal family would no longer be required as players walk onto or leave Centre Court.

“It’s sad, but we have to move on,” All England Chief Executive Christopher Gorringe told Associated Press. “We know there is very little bowing or curtsying done in royal circles now.”

Men will be expected to bow and women to curtsy only if Queen Elizabeth II or Prince Charles is in the Royal Box, club officials said.

Neither is likely. The Queen hasn’t attended Wimbledon since 1977. Prince Charles made one appearance -- in 1970.

Trivia question: Who was the first major league left-hander to reach 3,000 strikeouts?

Together again: Jason Thomas left USC and Coach Paul Hackett in the spring of 1999 because he was buried on the quarterback depth chart and upset when the coach had him field punts during practice.

On Sunday, Thomas and Hackett were reunited when the New York Jets signed the former Dominguez High standout to a free-agent contract.

There was one condition before the offer was made: Thomas had to agree to play H-back, not quarterback, in a Jet attack directed by offensive coordinator Hackett, who was fired by USC 1 1/2 years after Thomas transferred to Nevada Las Vegas.

Thomas, a three-year starter at UNLV, says he’s disappointed -- again -- that he won’t be playing quarterback, and told the Las Vegas Review Journal he recognizes “there are a lot of ironies in this situation.”

Tiger torture: The Detroit Tigers began play Tuesday 3-20, and not even a the-glass-is-always-half-full guy like Sparky Anderson is optimistic.

Rather, he empathizes with Tiger Manager Alan Trammell.

“He has to feel like the guy strapped to the chair with honey and ants on him,” Anderson told the Detroit News.

Tangled Webb: Brandon Webb pitched seven scoreless innings Sunday in his first major league start, striking out 10 as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the New York Mets in the first game of a doubleheader, 6-1.

The impressive performance earned Webb ... a demotion between games.

Webb was optioned to Tucson to make room for Randy Johnson to come off the disabled list to start Game 2.

The strategy, of little consolation to Webb, worked for the Diamondbacks, who completed a sweep with a 7-3 victory as Johnson struck out 12 in his return from a knee injury.

Webb didn’t earn a job, but he did get a compliment.

“Brandon’s act was tough to follow up,” Johnson told the Arizona Republic.

Trivia answer: Steve Carlton reached the milestone by fanning Tim Wallach in the first inning of a game on April 29, 1981.

And finally: Joseph Forte of the Seattle SuperSonics was arrested last week when a Maryland trooper found a pistol and 20.6 grams of marijuana in Forte’s car after pulling him over for speeding.

Commented Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: “Alert NBA statisticians immediately credited Forte with the off-season’s first triple-trouble.”

-- Mike Hiserman