Say It Ain’t So: O.J. Forced to Give Up His Favorite Drink

O.J. Simpson has been advised that he should not drink orange juice.

O.J., known as “The Juice,” has arthritis in a knee and the acidity in orange juice is not good for his condition.

Simpson reportedly is fond of orange juice, so he’s making a sacrifice.

Of course, O.J. stands for Orenthal James, but those initials evolved into “Orange Juice.”

Trivia time: Name the teams and the site of the NFL’s first Monday night televised game.

Hang ten: Scott Miller, the former UCLA star wide receiver and punt return specialist who is now with the Miami Dolphins, earned a reputation as somewhat of a flake last year, according to Scott Fowler of the Miami Herald.

“His facial hair went from clean-shaven to weird goatee to full beard and mustache (where he is now),” Fowler writes. “Several stories were written about Scott Miller, the surfer dude from UCLA, who just happens to pursue catching footballs as a sidelight.”

Said Miller: “That’s not really true. I can surf, but I didn’t go a single time this summer. I like skiing--water and snow--a lot better.”

Trade-off: Blackie Sherrod of the Dallas Morning News, recalling a remark once made by the late Edward Bennett Williams, a former owner of the Washington Redskins and Baltimore Orioles: “The dumbest NFL owner is equal to the smartest baseball owner.”

Get serious: Writing on Andre Agassi’s quest to win the U.S. Open tennis title before he lost a quarterfinal match to Jim Courier, Bud Collins said in the Boston Globe:

“Two majors in one year? Neil Armstrong might feel upstaged and decide to go strolling on Mars to catch up.”

Hardly.

Choices: Art Spander, writing in the San Francisco Examiner, said the back of one University of California football manager’s T-shirt proclaimed: “Give me roses, or give me death.”

After losing to Purdue, 41-14, Saturday, the Bears are closer to the latter.

Slim chance: Late comebacks in college football, specifically as time runs out, are exciting.

However, the odds are stacked against the team with the ball winning on the last play. In the more than 14,000 games since the NCAA started keeping records in 1971, only 95 have been won as time ran out. That’s about one of every 150 games.

Trivia answer: The New York Jets played the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Stadium on Sept. 21, 1970. The Browns won, 31-21.

Quotebook: Dave Kindred of the Sporting News on the state of major league baseball: “Once upon a time, (baseball) was an institution. Now it belongs in one.”