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Sunday, February 09, 2003

By Pete Aldrich, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Jennifer Lopez has a lot going for her. She can sing, she can shake and she can act. And -- her engagement to Ben Affleck not withstanding -- she can pick a winner.

The Las Vegas Sun reported that J-Lo placed a six-figure wager on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII.

And, like the Buccaneers, she won.

According to the Sun, Lopez put down $250,000 at the MGM Grand on Tampa Bay to win and took the money line at plus-160. Her payoff, including the original investment, was $650,000.

Lopez and Affleck are regulars in Vegas, where they have been searching for a new house. The Sun reported that Lopez has shown interest in a $2.3 million mansion in nearby Henderson.

And now she has $650,000 for the down payment.

Don't mess with my man

Diane Bodine, the wife of Winston Cup driver Brett Bodine, was charged with making harassing phone calls and threatening a woman she suspected was involved with her husband.

Diane Bodine surrendered to authorities Tuesday in Volusia County, Fla., and was released on $6,500 bond. Her lawyer said she denies all the charges.

Police said she was calling a Loganville, Ga., woman, whose name was not released. But her job description was: She's a corporate employee of the restaurant chain Hooters of America, one of Brett Bodine's NASCAR sponsors.

Does that make her a Hooters' girl, even if she's an executive?

Breakfast in the fast lane

Ready for breakfast with Richard Petty?

Petty, NASCAR's all-time winningest driver, now has his own cereal.

General Mills has launched "Richard Petty 43's," a special edition cereal in the shape of 4s and 3s to commemorate Petty's career and his No. 43 car with which he won seven Winston Cup titles and seven Daytona 500s.

The cereal will be available in two versions: a 1970 Petty "Superbird" edition, and a 1984 "Grand Prix" edition.

It's the first time General Mills has created a cereal that specifically honors an individual.

Take a number ... except that one

Chicago Cubs newcomer Eric Karros had a hard time picking a uniform number.

Karros didn't bother asking for No. 23, which he wore with the Dodgers, because that was worn by former Cubs great Ryne Sandberg. "No way I commit that kind of gaffe," Karros said.

He then requested his old UCLA number -- 26. But that is the retired number of Billy Williams.

How about No. 14? Sorry, Eric, that's Ernie Banks' old number. And it, too, is retired.

Karros settled for No. 32, his Dodgers number reversed.

Perfect match?

The once-rumored Serena Williams-LaVar Arrington match never materialized.

But what about Serena and Tampa Bay Buccaneers wideout Keyshawn Johnson?

According to Sports Illustrated, Johnson sent Serena 20 dozen roses during the final weekend of the Australian Open, where she was in the process of winning her fourth consecutive Grand Slam title. After dispatching sister Venus in the final, Serena flew to Los Angeles, then took a chopper to San Diego to watch Johnson and Co. wipe out the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII.

After the game, Johnson and Serena mingled at a postgame party at the W hotel. The Super Bowl champ and the tennis star would not comment on their relationship.

There's trouble Bruin

How far has the UCLA basketball program fallen? The Bruins have become late-night fodder for Jay Leno.

Said Leno: "It's gotten so bad the players are skipping practice to go to class."

Stay away from Snoopy

Now, this is a true dog leg ...

The 15th hole of the Highland 18 Golf Course in St. Paul, Minn., will have a large fairway bunker in the outline of Snoopy, Charlie Brown's dog from the "Peanuts" comic strip by the late Charles Schulz.

Schulz was a St. Paul native.

"We knew about Charles Schulz's connection to Highland where he used to play and caddie, so we dropped Snoopy in on the 15th," said Paul Miller of Gill Miller Inc., a River Falls, Wis., firm in charge of the $4 million renovation.

The course closed last fall for renovation and is expected to reopen near the end of the 2004 golf season.

Tall order

Some people would rather not take the elevator, including those who participated in the Empire State Building Run-Up last week.

Australia's Paul Crake won for the fifth consecutive year, navigating 86 floors -- that's 1,576 steps -- in 9 minutes, 33 seconds. Cindy Moll of Indianapolis led the women in 13:06 after finishing second last year.

Chico Scimone, a 91-year-old Italian, competed for the 13th time and finished in 40:02.

Change of socks

The Boston Red Sox are -- fittingly -- going to wear red socks this season.

The team has not worn solid red socks since before World War II.

And speaking of war timelines, it should be noted that the Red Sox haven't won the World Series since World War I -- in 1918.

Phil's physique

Phil Mickelson, who doesn't have to worry about being mistaken for Mr. Universe, discussed his soft waistline in a recent Golf Magazine interview with Peter Kessler.

Here's an excerpt:

PK: "I see the PGA Tour media guide lists you at 6 foot 2, 190 pounds. You don't exactly look like 190 pounds."

PM: "It's a very old media guide."

PK: "The last time we talked you were on the 'eat and chew anything you like as long as you don't swallow it' diet. What's the current plan?"

PM: "I'm still on the same diet with the only difference being that I've been swallowing lately. It's a bit of a problem. But there is a bright side."

PK: "Which is?"

PM: "I'm still 6 foot 2."

Rocky not down for the count

Sylvester Stallone, apparently not tired of making bad movies, has signed up for "Rocky VI."

Wrote Bill Simmons of ESPN the Magazine: "What could possibly be the premise? Rocky fights someone who keeps taunting him at bingo games?"