A Rose is a Rose is a Rose...the world's greatest show is put on ice...a million-dollar swing
Whiffed
Against Cincinnati Reds righthander Tim Layana, actor Tom Selleck, 46, in a spring-training at bat for the Detroit Tigers, in Lakeland, Fla. Selleck, who played baseball in high school and is a rabid fan of his hometown Tigers, pinch-hit for outfielder Rob Deer in the eighth inning of a 6-4 Detroit loss. Selleck fouled off three pitches—one hitting a nine-year-old girl in the stands—before waving at a curveball for his third strike. "I was trying to think about how I did it during batting practice," said Selleck, who hit several BP homers while preparing for his role as an aging ballplayer in the upcoming film Tokyo Diamond. "At least it wasn't three up, three down."
Struck It Rich
Bakery supply company executive Ray Wilkerson, 41, by acing the 151-yard 5th hole at The Club at Cimarron, in Mission, Texas, to earn $1 million in a charity hole-in-one contest. After his eight-iron shot dropped, Wilkerson called his wife, Becky, on a cellular phone from the green. The nine handicapper will lose his USGA amateur status when he accepts the first installment of his prize, which he'll receive in 40 annual payments of $25,000.
Released
From a Cincinnati halfway house. Pete Rose, after serving three months for tax evasion. Rose still has nearly 500 hours of community service to perform, as an assistant gym teacher for the Cincinnati public schools. Upon finishing his stay at the halfway house, Rose was asked by a local TV crew to explain how the ordeal had changed him. "You don't have enough tape in your camera," said Rose. Later that afternoon, he flew to Montgomery, Ala., for a paid appearance at a sports show.
Booted
The Ringling Bros, and Barnum & Bailey Circus, from Madison Square Garden, for two first-round Stanley Cup playoff games between the New York Rangers and the Washington Capitals. "I kinda like sharing the Garden with the Rangers," said clown Jay Stewart, "but I wouldn't want to be the guy who has to put the ice skates on the elephants."
Died
USGA executive director of rules and competition P.J. Boatwright Jr., 63; of cancer; in Morristown, N.J. Boatwright, who also served as joint secretary of the World Amateur Golf Council, was considered the world's leading authority on the rules of golf. In the first round of the 1979 U.S. Open at Inverness, in Toledo, long-hitter Lon Hinkle drove across an adjacent fairway to cut off a dogleg on the 8th hole and make birdie. With the game's best interests in mind, that evening Boatwright had a tree planted to impede Hinkle's path in subsequent rounds.
Died
Fred Capossela, 88, a New York thoroughbred racetrack announcer from 1934 to'71; of a stroke; in Upland, Calif. Capossela's high-pitched, nasal twang and his idiosyncratic back-and homestretch calls made him the most famous man in his business. Among his last words, according to son Fred Jr., was perhaps Capossela's most renowned line, "It is now post time."
PHOTO
GARY BOGDON/PICTURE GROUP
Magnum wasn't a force.