He Was Wrong About White

When accusations of drug use by Kelli White first came out last year, Carl Steward of the Oakland Tribune defended the sprinter and criticized track and field officials.

Wrote Steward at the time: “Does anyone really believe White consciously and deviously plotted to use this particular drug to win her world meet events?”

After White’s admission of guilt and two-year suspension last week, Steward wrote, “I’m usually the first to admit when I’ve been a naive dope -- ‘dope’ definitely is the right word here -- and I’m feeling pretty stupid and gullible today.”

Trivia time: Mike Montgomery coached 18 seasons at Stanford. Who preceded him?

He’s got it nailed: From Randy Hill of Foxsports.com: “According to track and field experts, an Athens construction worker is favored to win the hammer throw.”

Light humor: Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle, on Athens’ being behind schedule on construction: “Who am I to preach? I’ve still got my Christmas lights up.”

A fair price: Said former NFL linebacker Bryan Cox on Fox Sports Net’s “Best Damn Sports Show Period”: “I’ve had conversations with Dan Marino where he said he’d give half of his money for a [Super Bowl] ring. I said, ‘You can buy mine.’ ”

Peanuts and what? The New York Yankees have switched from Cracker Jack to Crunch ‘n Munch as the featured caramel popcorn on the ballpark menu.

Cracker Jack has been a baseball institution ever since the song “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” came out in 1908.

“I would assume that Cracker Jack didn’t have any competition back then,” Lonn Trost, the Yankees’ chief operating officer, told the New York Times.

They don’t know Jack: David Bernstein, Yankee Stadium’s director of hospitality, said the move was prompted in part by Cracker Jack’s switch from boxes to bags.

“That’s baseball for you,” says Tom FitzGerald of the San Francisco Chronicle. “Penalize somebody for thinking outside the box.”

Let’s be frank: Chronicle reader Alex Kaseberg says, “Now the only food at Yankee Stadium with a surprise inside are the hot dogs.”

New York nightmare: David Letterman, on New York City’s being a finalist for the 2012 Summer Olympics: “That’s great. This city can’t handle the extra traffic for a street fair.”

Trivia answer: Tom Davis, who went to Iowa for 13 seasons and is now at Drake.

And finally: When several NCAA championship teams were honored at the White House last week, President Bush singled out University of Denver hockey player Lukas Dora, a native of the Czech Republic.

“Where are you, Lukas?” Bush asked. “They tell me he talks a lot on the ice. He’s a talkative guy, but he uses unique English to confuse the opponents. Kind of sounds like the strategy I use at the press conferences.”

*

Larry Stewart can be reached at [email protected].