Polar Bears Aren’t Only Hazard During a Round of Iditagolf

Hitting a polar bear with your golf ball gets you a three-stroke penalty, but if you manage to get it back, you can subtract five strokes.

That’s just one of the eccentric rules in the Bering Sea Ice Classic, a six-hole charity tournament played each year on the snow-covered frozen sea near Nome, Alaska. Stealing a partner’s bright orange ball is OK. Lots of balls were lost in the deep snow, an incentive for swiping someone else’s ball.

“Any guy who finishes with a ball wins,” summed up former Lt. Gov. Steve McAlpine, who wasn’t able to swipe quite as many as he lost during his round.

Now they believe: After losing to Santa Clara, Ed Stokes, Arizona center, said: “I heard a guy say we were overrated the other day. I don’t know . . . maybe he was right.”

Trivia time: Who was the second baseman for the 1934 pennant-winning Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League?

Financial report: Former President Bush’s $148,400 annual Presidential pension is less than 20 players on his son’s Texas Ranger baseball team will receive this year.

Nonentity: UCLA defeated Villanova in the 1971 NCAA basketball final, 68-62, and Howard Porter of the losers was named the tournament’s MVP--but you’d never know it by reading the National Collegiate Championships book.

Porter was later discovered to be ineligible, but instead of placing an asterisk beside the runner-up’s name and the MVP’s, the NCAA refuses to recognize their existence. The word Vacated appears in both places, leaving the Bruins with no opponent and the tournament with no MVP.

Weather report: Golfer Chris Perry, checking out the fairways during the rain delay at the recent Monterrey Open: “It looks like a sequel to ‘A River Runs Through It.’ ”

Different look: Bobby Czyz, despite being WBA cruiserweight champion, told Phil Jackman of the Baltimore Sun: “I think I’m usually viewed as an underdog because people don’t expect a white, middle-class, well-spoken guy to be a fighter.”

Fernando’s mania: When Fernando Valenzuela was pitching in Mexico, after a career in the major leagues, he was continually asked why he continued to play at a lower level. “I told them it was because I love the game,” he said. “Baseball everywhere is the same.”

One little letter: Bill Petersen, former Florida State football coach, on being inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame:

“I’m very appreciative of being indicted.”

No free loads: Leaders of Berlin’s bid for the 2000 Olympic Games have accused front-runner Sydney of using financial incentives to win over the International Olympic Committee. Sydney offered to pay travel and lodging costs of all athletes and staff if the Australian city wins the bid.

“We feel there’s a much better way to use that money than to give it to rich national Olympic committees,” said Brigitte Schmitz, head of the Berlin committee’s international department.

Trivia answer: Jimmie Reese, current coach of the Angels.

Quotebook: Charles Barkley, on stardom: “When you’re the top dog, everybody wants to put you in the pound.”