Hail, Hale, and do the cha-cha for Chi Chi...Nijinsky II rounds the far turn...A royal wedding
Inducted
Hale Irwin, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Lighthorse Harry Cooper and Richard Tufts, into the PGA World Golf Hall of Fame. Irwin, 46, has won 19 tournaments, including the U.S. Open three limes; Rodriguez, 56, won eight PGA events and has become a legend on the Senior tour, with 21 victories in six years; Cooper. 85, won 31 tournaments during his career and was the Tour's leading money winner in 1937, when he took home $14,138.39; and Tufts, who died in 1980, was a president of the U.S. Golf Association. "Today I feel like I'm 10 feet tall," said Rodriguez, who stands 5'7" in his spikes and trademark hat.
Hurled
A 90-mph fastball for a called strike, by Yankee phenom Brien Taylor, in his much anticipated first professional pitch, for Class A Fort Lauderdale. Taylor, 20, last year received a $1.55 million signing bonus, a record for an amateur draft pick. He went five innings, allowing live hits and one walk, and struck out five. Taylor left with a 4-3 lead and got the win in the Baby Yanks' 9-3 triumph over the St. Lucie Mets. "In high school nobody ever got on base," he said, "so I've got some adjusting to do."
Healed
The sprained right wrist of enigmatic tennis player Monica Seles, injured last month in a fall. Seles, 18, had been trying to hold on to a cellular telephone while riding a bicycle. "I learned a lesson," she said. "You can always get another phone, but you can't get another wrist." Seles got another trophy on Sunday, when she defeated Zina Garrison to win the Virginia Slims of Houston.
Stolen
From the Ben Hogan Trophy Room at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, three of the famed golfer's priceless mementos. Missing were two gold medallions and the diamond-encrusted Hickock Belt, which Hogan received when he was named the nation's top professional athlete in 1953. Hogan, 79, is ailing and did not comment. "He's angry about it," said a spokesman for the club, which posted a $5,000 reward. "These pieces have tremendous intrinsic value. We want them back."
Married
Stefan Edberg, the world's No. 2 tennis player, and his longtime girlfriend, model Annette Olsen. The ceremony was attended by 600 of their closest friends. "We tried to keep it small and private," said Olsen. But word got out, and thousands of fans and reporters clogged roads around the cathedral in Växjö, Sweden, the bride's hometown. Edberg and Olsen later braved the traffic in a horse-drawn carriage that took them to a nearby castle for dinner.
Humanely Destroyed
Nijinsky II, 25, champion racehorse and sire of champions; in Paris, Ky., on April 15. In 1970, Nijinsky II won Europe's Triple Crown. He won 11 of 13 starts during his career and retired as the leading money winner in European history. Standing at stud in the U.S., he sired, among many others. Ferdinand, the '87 Horse of the Year. Nijinsky II's entire body, rather than the traditional head, heart and hooves, was buried at Claiborne Farm between Secretariat and Riva Ridge.
PHOTO
AP
Rodriguez, Cooper and Irwin had a ball.