Dodgers Won’t Shrink From Positive Deeds

In “Damn Yankees,” Richard Adler and Jerry Ross taught us, “You Gotta Have Heart.”

But if it were up to the Dodgers’ new psychiatrist, Dr. Herndon P. Harding Jr., the song would be, “You’re Gonna Have Heart.”

Ira Dreyfuss of the Associated Press wrote: “Harding figures that, if you can make it to the pros, you’ve probably learned to handle stress fairly well. But the way he sees it, counseling can make you even better.

“For instance, he said, a pitcher may concentrate on ‘I gotta throw this fastball’ instead of ‘I’m gonna burn this thing down the middle.’ ”

“The ‘gotta’ is a negative thought that shows fear of failure and, if you concentrate on failure, you’ll find it, Harding said. On the other hand, Harding said, the ‘gonna’ assumes that you’ll like doing it, and encourages success.”

Trivia time: Name the four members of the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins who have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Take’s take: A thought for the new year, as Santa Anita begins its winter-spring meeting: Tokyo’s Kyodo News Service reported Wednesday that Yutaka Take, 21, Japan’s leading jockey, won $17.45 million in 1990. America’s best was Gary Stevens, $4.34 million below Take.

Piercing the uprights: In front of 58,000 fans at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis Saturday night, Mike Pierce of Darlington, Ind., had his moment.

Pierce, a former high school defensive end, was picked to take part in a promotion between halves of the Indianapolis-Washington game. He made three of three field-goal attempts--the third a 40-yarder--and won a pizza for everyone in the Dome and pizza for a year for himself.

Said Pierce, paraphrasing artist Andy Warhol: “I felt important for 15 minutes of my life.”

Signoff: A wave of protest followed the Detroit Tigers’ firing of radio announcer Ernie Harwell, 72, last week.

Sunday, Brian K. Wingeroth, pastor of the Farmington Hills Baptist Church, asked Harwell, a member of the congregation, to speak “because we want people to know the source of this man’s strength and character. It is his faith.”

Harwell told his fellow churchgoers that the end of his 30-year run with the Tigers is “just an old announcer saying he’s not going to work another year. It’s not life or death or war.”

Gridlockbusters: This might be the ultimate in bowl game hospitality.

In response to concerns voiced by Penn State Coach Joe Paterno, the Blockbuster Bowl assigned a staff member with binoculars to monitor the digital timer on Ft. Lauderdale’s 17th Street Causeway drawbridge, located near the hotel where the Nittany Lions are quartered.

Paterno was worried that delays created by the the drawbridge during the holiday rush would tie up his team on its way to and from practice.

Said Paterno: “I was concerned we’d be on the bus for hours, but these people have really knocked themselves out to make it nice.”

Add Blockbuster: Paterno might have been grateful for the traffic control, but he politely declined when the Blockbuster Bowl invited the Nittany Lions to join Florida State players on an ocean cruise Christmas night.

Paterno was concerned because the cruise was scheduled from 6 p.m. to midnight.

Keith Tribble, executive director of the Blockbuster Bowl, said: “We want the teams to have a good time. We want them to be prepared to compete. That’s his decision. Obviously, we respect that.”

Meanwhile, Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden told his players the cruise was optional.

Trivia answer: Running back Larry Csonka, quarterback Bob Griese, center Jim Langer and wide receiver Paul Warfield.

Quotebook: Detroit Piston guard Isiah Thomas, when asked what it would take for the Pistons to return to championship form: “A different attitude. Or different people.”