He’s Full of Macho and Baloney

He calls himself the Macho Man, and he arrived at a New York press conference wearing a sequined silver jacket, along with sparkling silver ankle boots over a black body suit and, according to Wallace Matthews of Newsday, enough gold around around his neck to start a New York branch of Fort Knox.

He’s Hector Camacho, the WBC lightweight champion, and he said: “My life is like a movie. I drive my Corvette up on the sidewalk, I race at 100 m.p.h. What do you want. I’m the Macho Man.”

Other declarations by the champion who faces former champion Edwin Rosario June 13 at Madison Square Garden:

--His recent run-in with New York City police: “They pulled me over with sticks and guns after I ran a couple of red lights, but when they saw it was me, they just asked for my autograph.”

--His fledgling singing career: “My first single is called ‘Macho Time.’ I’m a kid who’s been around the disco. I know about music. I can sing it, and I can dance it. I could be the Puerto Rican Michael Jackson.”

--His hopes for a movie career: “Give me a three-picture deal, one with me killing Rambo and two with me killing other guys. I’ll be the biggest thing in movies.”

Pete Rose thought it was nice that his old Cincinnati Red teammate Hal McRae made baseball history by playing on the same team as his son in a Kansas City Royal exhibition game, but he told Ira Berkow of the New York Times: “I coulda done it before Hal. If I had a boy first I would have. My daughter Fawn is 21. I have nobody to blame but myself.”

Trivia Time: Name four pitchers in the Hall of Fame who pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers. (Answer at right.)

Pete Incaviglia, the rookie from Oklahoma State, is leading the Texas Rangers in runs batted in, and Manager Bobby Valentine told Shirley Povich of the Washington Post that he is thinking seriously of starting him on opening day.

Wouldn’t Valentine be taking a gamble?

“Columbus did,” Valentine said, “and they’ve put up statues to him all over the world.”

Add Incaviglia: He used aluminum bats in college, but Ranger spring training director John Welaj said: “Right away he showed us plenty with wood. Only thing was, he broke so many bats. He was such an innocent; didn’t know you had to hold the trademark up.”

That’s remindful of what Henry Aaron told a catcher who tried to distract him by telling him the label was pointing down.

“I didn’t come up here to read,” The Hammer said.

The worst free-throw shooter in basketball? Boston’s Kevin McHale says: “The worst I saw was Rick Robey. Once he threw an air ball, then he banked the next one in. That’s a difference of six feet!”

Trivia Answer: Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Juan Marichal and Hoyt Wilhelm. Marichal and Wilhelm both ended their careers with the Dodgers, Marichal in 1975, Wilhelm in 1972.

Quotebook

Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski, after the Navy team spoke at a news conference, saying it was nice to hear players use three-syllable words and full sentences: “I’m only up to two syllables, but I’m Polish so I have an excuse.”