There’s Nothing Unladylike About Winning

The role of female athletes in high school and college sports is escalating at a rate that is creating a ripple effect throughout teenage society.

Agatha Mankiewicz, a high school basketball star and homecoming queen in Chicago, perhaps explained the change to the Sun-Times as well as anyone when she said:

“It’s not the pigtails and skirts anymore, and I think that’s awesome. The thing is, all of my friends on the basketball team are feminine, but in a jeans-and- sweats sort of way.”

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Trivia time: What do Ralph Kiner, George Sisler, Jim Bunning, Rod Carew and Luke Appling have in common?

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Pass the salt: Gary Peterson in the Contra Costa Times:

“Twelve days ago, after the playoff loss in Green Bay, George Seifert acknowledged that the 49ers’ organization ‘tends to cannibalize itself’ when things go wrong. On Wednesday, Seifert discovered the horrible truth. He wasn’t one of the cannibals. He was dinner.”

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Looking ahead: The most important date for baseball fans in Japan could be the May 20-22 series between the Dodgers and the Padres in San Diego because of the possibility of a pitching duel between the Dodgers’ Hideo Nomo and the Padres’ potential acquisition, Hideki Irabu.

The Padres have negotiating rights to Irabu, who had 167 strikeouts in 157 1/3 innings last year for the Chiba Lotte Marines.

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Sounds logical: Shaun Powell, writing in Newsday about Chicago’s Dennis Rodman kicking a cameraman:

“Too bad the NBA can’t level the same punishment.

“Give him a swift kick in the groin, that is.”

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Early worry: Noting that O.J. Simpson attorney Robert Shapiro was being mentioned as a potential buyer of the Dodgers, Jay Leno quipped, “Imagine that. If he bought the team, none of the gloves would fit.”

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Is it that easy?: Pittsburgh Penguin rookie goalie Patrick Lalime, who has a career-opening unbeaten streak of 15 games, including three shutouts, explains his success:

“You never know what to expect. When I came in the league, I was kind of shaky. After that, I said, ‘Stop being impressed. Just go out there and have fun.’ ”

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Trivia answer: All are in the baseball Hall of Fame, but none played in a World Series.

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And finally: Longtime Atlanta Braves’ public-address announcer Marshall Mann, who died of cancer, was buried with his microphone in his hands. It was the same one he used from 1967 to 1996 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium when he would say, “Ladies and gentlemen, your Atlanta Braves.”

“Now he’ll have it forever,” his wife, Patsy, said.