Chances Are, He Won’t Get Fur, er, Far

Someone in Portland, home of the NBA’s Trail Blazers, has stolen the Phoenix Suns’ gorilla suits.

The Suns’ Gorilla, whose name isn’t publicized, and his assistant were making appearances at minor league baseball games in Oregon when they stopped in Portland to shop. While they were inside, someone broke into their rented car and stole five pieces of luggage.

The luggage included two gorilla suits, a set of gorilla hands and feet, props and “a lot of Suns’ souvenirs,” said Kenny Glenn, director of game operations for the Suns.

But the Gorilla didn’t lose his head. That was in the trunk.

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Were you there? Sixty-one years ago today, the Xth Summer Olympics opened in the Coliseum.

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Trivia time: What is the only track and field event in which a world record has never been set in the Olympic Games?

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No smokes: When Formula One automobile and motorcycle races are held in England, Germany and France, all cigarette advertising has to be removed from cars, cycles, transporters, motor homes and team uniforms because of anti-tobacco laws.

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Any takers? The first World University Games staged in the United States, a financial flop, could be the last.

Officials in Buffalo, N.Y., had predicted that ticket sales could bring in as much as $6 million for the Olympic-style competition, but the Associated Press estimates the games probably lost as much as $5 million.

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Short life: The average career of a professional football player lasts 3.2 years, according to the National Football League Players Assn.

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What’s in a name? Europe’s top female golfers recently competed in the BMW Masters tournament in Belgium. Commented London columnist Michael McDonnell: “Officials and sponsors felt that the more correct title of BMW Mistresses was somehow inappropriate.”

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Betting line: Lee Corso’s College Football Preview lists Florida State as 3-1 to win the national championship and San Diego State’s Marshall Faulk 7-5 to win the Heisman Trophy. USC is 60-1 and UCLA 200-1 for the national title.

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The bat controversy: To those who would bring the aluminum bat--which is used almost everywhere but in professional baseball--to the major leagues, Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson says: “They’ll never do it. If they do, somebody will get killed.”

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Tough choice: The Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League have a kicker named Troy Westwood. Times staffer Steve Horn asks: “If he had been a local kid, would he have gone to USC or UCLA?”

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Friendly jog: Dr. Adolf Weidmann recently flew from Germany to visit his daughter in San Jose. As long as he was in the area, he decided to run in the San Francisco marathon.

What makes the story special is that Weidmann is 91. Running the 26 miles-plus would be quite a feat were it not for Weidmann’s background. For 20 years, he has run in a 100-kilometer race in Basel, Switzerland. A hundred kilometers is 62 miles.

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Trivia answer: The discus.

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Quotebook: Ken Schrader, one of stock car racing’s premier pole position qualifiers: “You’ve got to thrill yourself if you’re going to try to get a pole.”