THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 18, 1995 TAG: 9508180530
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB MOLINARO
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
Name game: For their peace of mind, baseball fans who remember Felix Millan and Felix Mantilla will want to think of Felix the Hurricane as just another light hitter.
Keeping the faith: We can always hope that the storm is like Felix Unger and cleans up after itself.
Taking his time: The best you can say for Heath Shuler is that he is not wasting his best passes on exhibition games.
For kicks: Heather Sue Mercer, who booted the winning field goal in the Duke spring game, is fifth on the depth chart.
Changing waistline: The new, larger Monica Seles looks like she's wearing a money belt under her tennis dress.
Andre the Giant: With the U.S. Open approaching, everybody else in men's tennis looks like they are playing for the chance to be Andre Agassi's finals foil.
Making a pitch: It's not too early to suggest that Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield is the front-runner for American League Most Valuable Player.
The best: His eulogy of Mickey Mantle once again identifies Bob Costas as his generation's most elegant voice in the electronic media.
All choked up: The California Angels' Rex Hudler says, ``I cry on the field six or seven times a year, because I'm just so happy to be here.''
Tube talk: That Bill Walton attended more Grateful Dead concerts than he played NBA games surprises no one who has ever heard his TV commentary.
Football fever: Despite their success, the Atlanta Braves were outdrawn on television by the Falcons' first exhibition game on a night the teams went head-to-head. The Patriots pulled the same number on the first-place Red Sox.
Priorities: Banning tobacco advertising at sporting events would hurt the cigarette peddlers, whereas a ban on beer ads would wreck all of sports.
In praise of power: Braves outfielder David Justice is probably right when he says, ``Batting average is the most overrated statistic. The only thing that matters is if you produce runs.''
Hoops from abroad: For American kids, access to the NBA is even tougher now that the pros are mining Europe for more and more players. Europeans, says Stu Jackson, vice president of the expansion Vancouver Grizzlies, aren't as gifted physically as Americans, but they ``shoot the ball much better and, overall, they are much better passers at an early age than players in the NBA.''
Football shut-ins: The Minnesota Gophers, who play in the Metrodome, do not appear in a game outdoors until Oct. 21.
$ign of the times: Crass commercialism may sink to new depths if the state of Minnesota agrees to remove Hubert H. Humphrey's name from the Metrodome in order to sell the space to a corporation for $1 million a year, money that will help support the Twins and Vikings.
In passing: I suppose reasonable people can disagree on whether the tattoo of Arthur Ashe on Mike Tyson's bicep is a tribute or insult to Ashe's memory.
Just call him Tim: The biggest name in college football this year is Michigan tailback Tshimanga Biakabutuka - 20 letters. by CNB