Separating sports facts from fiction

For many office-working Americans, myself included, beginning your work day means sitting down at your desk, turning on your computer and spending the first several minutes of your day sifting through junk e-mails.

But sometimes, I’ll receive an actual e-mail from an actual friend, with a sad story of some poor unfortunate who only needs you to forward their message to 10 friends and they’ll get that kidney transplant ‘ or words to that effect.

When those come in, I hop on to one of my favorite Websites: Snopes.com, the urban legend reference page. You’d be surprised just how many times the unfortunate renal patient is right there, with a big red dot and the word ‘false.’

(By the way, entering your PIN number backwards at the ATM does not summon the police.)

While sifting through Snopes, Internet surfers can also find many other categories of urban myths, including an entire section devoted to the world of sports. So as a Sunday morning quiz, if you will, see if you can tell which of these stories are the real deal, and which are just urban myth.

I’ll reveal the answers at the end of this column, so don’t cheat!

‘ 1. Before Super Bowl XXII in 1988, a reporter asked Washington Redskins quarterback Doug Williams, ‘How long have you been a black quarterback’?

In the media circus leading up to Super Bowls, all sorts of silly questions are asked as reporters try to find that one unique angle no one else is using. But in 1988, there was just one angle ‘ for the first time ever, one of the teams playing for the championship would be led by an African-American QB.

And during the hype surrounding that historic event, one reporter was either naive ‘ or dumb ‘ enough to utter what has become the prime example of idiotic interview questions.

2. Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis once threw a no-hitter while under the influence of LSD

Ellis hurled the first no-hitter of the 1970 season as he blanked the Padres 2-0 in the opening game of a June double-header in San Diego. However, his control was a bit shaky, resulting in eightwalks and a hit batsman. Still, a no-no is a no-no, and 14 years after achieving his feat Ellis explained his lack of control by confessing he was ‘tripping’ on LSD on the mound that day.

3. The Stanley Cup was once left in a snowbank.

Being that the Predators are still in the hunt for Lord Stanley’s cup (they are if you’re reading this early on Sunday, at least), this legend seems fitting.

Players from the NHL’s champion team are allowed to take personal possession of the league’s trophy for a while, and in 1924 a group of Montreal Canadiens were taking the cup to a victory party in the trunk of their car. Along the way the car got a flat tire, and the players removed the cup to get to the spare, leaving the trophy in the snow. They drove off without it, and only remembered it when the portion of the party came when they were going to drink champagne from it.

4. Golf courses have 18 holes because a bottle of Scotch contains 18 shots.

During a discussion among the membership board at St. Andrews in 1858, one of the members pointed out that it takes exactly 18 shots to polish off a fifth of Scotch. By limiting himself to only one shot of Scotch per hole, the Scot figured a round of golf was finished when the Scotch ran out.