Iowa Legend Could Be Candidate for a Fall

Despite all early signs indicating he’s no Bill Bradley or Jack Kemp--or even Jesse Ventura--onetime Iowa wrestling star Dan Gable is considering a run for governor of Iowa, prompting the following plea by David Yepsen in the Des Moines Register:

“Somebody. Please. Talk to Dan Gable. Tell him to end this talk of running for governor. He’s a great athlete who is being used by others. He’s becoming a sideshow and a distraction.

“Don’t take my word. Here are excerpts from a Gable radio interview with Steve Deace, who asks Gable why he’s thinking of running:

“ ‘Why? Well, that’s what I’d like to know. Um, that’s what I’m hoping to find out. Uh, I obviously know, you know, what the reason I’m getting pushed to do this. It’s whether or not I would want to get involved with this and that’s when I can answer the reason why. Right now, it’s, I’ve been basically approached to try to look at this and I told them that I would look at this . . . ‘ “

When asked about his priorities and issues, Gable replied, “You’re way ahead of me. That is somewhere down the road, where I would speak of those type of qualities.”

Gable, 52, is an Iowa legend. He had a combined record of 181-1 at Waterloo West High and Iowa State and coached Iowa to 15 NCAA titles in 21 seasons. He also won an Olympic gold medal in 1972.

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Trivia time: Which catcher had baseball’s highest all-time fielding average?

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Family tie: Ernie Grunfeld, former New York Knick player and current Milwaukee Buck general manager, is enjoying the recruiting fuss over his son, Dan.

A prep swingman, Dan Grunfeld--like his father, 6 feet 6--is being recruited by Stanford, Ohio State and Indiana, among others.

Recruiting expert Tom Konchalski told the New York Post, “He went from being a nice prospect to someone who’s really sought after.”

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Changing of the guard: The Washington Post’s Tom Boswell is saddened by the thought of coming retirements:

“The imminent retirements of Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn will hang over the game like a sweet, sad smile. Word arrived this week that injury-plagued Mark McGwire is also considering retirement.

“Seldom has baseball ever lost two, and perhaps three, such popular players at one time. On a more serious note, the game also has Ted Williams, who’s in bad health, on its mind.”

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Another rising son? The Seattle Mariners, fearing tampering charges, aren’t talking but the Dallas Morning News reports another high-profile Japanese player, shortstop Kazuo Matsui, is pondering a jump to the Mariners after the 2002 season.

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Trivia answer: Elston Howard, who played for the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox from 1955-68, .993.

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And finally: From Norman Chad’s syndicated column on AOL: “Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf are going to have a baby. Sources indicate it was an unplanned pregnancy, also known as a ‘double fault.’ ”