An Oriole Who Has Truly Flown the Coop

You remember the knock on the Boston Red Sox: 25 players, 25 cabs.

Now comes news that Iron Man Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles, who lately has been swinging an iron bat (a near-Mendoza line-like .214), has been a little bit on the aloof side.

According to Peter Pascarelli of the Sporting News, Ripken isn’t exactly promoting friendship and team unity.

“He largely has separated himself from the rest of the (Orioles),” Pascarelli wrote. “He has a limousine pick him up at airports rather than riding the team bus. In some cities, Ripken stays in a hotel different from the team’s.”

What’s next, a request for his own dressing room?

Trivia time: What longtime Ivy League rule will be changed this fall?

All wet: The good people at the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., might have gone a little overboard with some of their inductee choices.

Included on the list of honorees are Benjamin Franklin, Winston Churchill and, of course, Julius Caesar.

Sadly, none of the three men could attend his enshrinement ceremony.

What, no ketchup or relish?If NBC ends up with a share of the new major league TV contract, Bob Costas would probably be part of the broadcasting crew for games. But Costas, perhaps the best in the business, isn’t without his share of announcing goofs.

In 1986, while making some closing comments during a postgame show at Boston’s Fenway Park, Costas was done in by a concession-stand staple.

“Just as I said, ‘Hi, Bob Costas here with Tony Kubek,’ a gust of wind blew a hot dog wrapper right onto my face--and it stuck,” he said in the book, “The Baseball Hall of Shame’s Warped Record Book.”

“I tried casually to toss the wrapper away, but the next day when I watched the tape, I realized I was talking for 12 seconds with mustard smeared all over my nose.”

Win, place and no show: A radio advertisement done by Joe Morgan, former Boston Red Sox manager, isn’t such a big hit with team officials. In fact, the Red Sox no longer allow the radio spot to be played during their games.

The ad, done for a nearby racetrack, pokes fun at ballplayers.

“Horses don’t expect to get paid unless they win,” Morgan says in the spot. “When was the last time you heard about a horse busting up a hotel room or feuding with the press?”

And the line that really irked the Red Sox: “And (the horses) don’t even think about messing around with women until after they retire.”

Morgan took the news well. After declining payment, his $500 fee was donated to a disabled-jockeys fund.

Larry, we hardly knew ye: The reviews are trickling in concerning Larry Brown’s resignation from the Clippers. The best one so far comes from USA Today basketball columnist Peter Vecsey:

“You have to love Larry Brown’s style. Who else resigns an NBA coaching position by phone while on vacation.

“First he called Domino’s. Then he called the Clippers to tell them he’d changed his mind about signing a new one-year deal; he wouldn’t be back.”

Added Vecsey: “ . . . Brown offers charisma, a history of quickly upgrading a franchise, a gift for teaching, wanderlust. From a team’s standpoint, though, the best thing about Brown is he always leaves before he’s told to hit the road, which means there’s never a big payoff.”

Trivia answer: Freshmen will be eligible to play varsity football.

Quotebook: New York Knick guard Doc Rivers on Chicago Bull superstar Michael Jordan: “You don’t want to get caught up watching Jordan unless it’s in one of his commercials. I was looking at that McDonald’s commercial, and he probably really can make that shot off the Sears Tower . . . nothing but net.”