After Golf Shots Come Shots of Different Kind

New Zealand’s Michael Campbell missed the cut at the recent Smurfit European Open at the K Club in Straffan, Ireland, but he didn’t miss out on 48 bottles of Irish whiskey.

That was his unusual prize, according to Golf World magazine, for a pair of eagles on the 518-yard finishing hole.

Another prize for a double eagle went unclaimed: a five-man racing yacht worth 25,000 pounds.

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Trivia time: When did California make its last appearance in the Rose Bowl game?

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No need to duck: If you feel cramped by 7-foot-high doorways, there’s a house for you in Denver.

It’s the former home of Nugget center Dikembe Mutombo, who now plays for Atlanta. The home, designed by Mutombo, has 8-foot-high doorways to accommodate his 7-foot-2 height.

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Sunshine city: Blaine Newnham of the Seattle Times disputes the notion that Seattle is a city continually drenched by rain.

“It just doesn’t rain that much here.” Newnham wrote. “The average rainfall downtown during baseball season--measured over an 82-year period--is 8.34 inches. Cleveland measures 19.78, Baltimore 22.52.”

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Select sites: Tim Keown of the San Francisco Chronicle has this observation in regard to Baltimore’s Roberto Alomar spitting in the face of umpire John Hirschbeck:

“Where else does an adult even consider spitting on another human being? Maybe in prison or at a Raider game, but nowhere else.”

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Add spitting: When Denver Bronco quarterback John Elway was asked if he ever had the urge to spit on an official, he replied: “No. Kick them, but not necessarily spit on them.”

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Sweet tooth: From the Sporting News: “Viking guard Randall McDaniel prepares on Sunday morning with his own breakfast of champions. Snickers, Hershey’s chocolate bars, m&m;’s.

“Consuming piles of candy before every game, McDaniel prepares for the pass rush with a sugar rush.”

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Too stylish: Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle recommends Oakland Athletic General Manager Sandy Alderson as baseball’s next commissioner.

“Unfortunately,” Ostler wrote, “Alderson lacks the No. 1 attribute that baseball looks for in a commissioner: a closet full of expensive, drab business suits.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1916, USC defeated Sherman Institute, 14-0, before 1,500 fans at Fiesta Park in Los Angeles.

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Trivia answer: 1959, when the Golden Bears lost to Iowa, 38-12.

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The Big Hurtin’: Chicago White Sox outfielder Danny Tartabull on his team not making the playoffs as a wild-card team: “It felt like dirt was being thrown on my grave.”

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And finally: Here’s Car and Driver magazine’s review of the 1997 Jaguar: “A spectacularly good car, a blend of muscularity and agility as graceful as Carl Lewis when he’s running his legs, not his mouth.”