Is Guilt, Like Beauty, in Beholder’s Eye?

The $20,000 fine levied against Denver Bronco linebacker Bill Romanowski for breaking the jaw of Carolina Panther quarterback Kerry Collins might be different, says NFL columnist Ron Borges of the Boston Globe, if a different person had reviewed the case. He writes:

“[Gene] Washington . . . reviews such things and recommends whether a fine is necessary, so what would you expect from a once sure-handed and sleek wide receiver who spent as little time as possible running across the middle of the field?

“If the NFL had Dick Butkus to rule on these matters, he would have recommended that Romanowski get a $20,000 bonus. Guilt or innocence is all about perspective in such matters.”

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Trivia time: How many times has the U.S. Amateur golf tournament been played in Southern California?

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Can you believe it? Boxing promoter Don King--who is facing a federal insurance-fraud trial--was honored by the New York City Council’s Black and Hispanic Caucus as a “cherished American celebrity.” The proclamation said King “just gets better with age.”

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Sit and watch: A courtside season ticket to Chicago Bull games costs about $19,000.

But would a Bull fan spend that much to sit on a leather sofa formerly owned by Michael Jordan and watch the team play on television?

Michael Evans, who recently bought Jordan’s home in Highland Park, Ill., thinks so. He is auctioning off the furniture and the bidding for the sofa will start at $15,000. Evans expects it to go for about $19,000.

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It’s a trend: The last three of quarterback John Elway’s Denver Bronco training-camp roommates, including backup quarterback Bill Musgrave, have retired prematurely.

“It’s not that they got tired of football,” Elway said. “It’s that they got tired of me.”

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Bitter feelings: Pierre Lacroix, Colorado Avalanche general manager, after matching the New York Rangers’ $21-million bid for Joe Sakic, told USA Today: “The way [the Rangers] are acting, I’m sure they’ll be the first team to sign an alien. I just hope the planet of the alien has a right to match.”

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The hockey game: About the same time Sakic got his $21 million, the NHL referees and linesmen agreed to new contract terms. Referees will get $220,000 a season, linesmen $100,000--hardly enough to be called on to break up fights between multimillionaires.

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Trivia answer: Once, at Bel-Air Country Club in 1976, when it was won by Bill Sander.

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And finally: Sport magazine’s annual college football preview includes an interesting feature on players hoping to fill their older brothers’ shoes.

One is of running back Adrian Autry, who is hoping to replace Darnell Autry at Northwestern.

It’s a nice story, but as Tom FitzGerald of the San Francisco Chronicle points out, the Autrys are not related.