Opinion: After correcting one mistake with the firing of Phil Regan and hiring of Davey Johnson, the Orioles should correct another mistake and take a run at making Doug Melvin their general manager. (Not that it will happen in a hundred years.)
Fact: Johnson says that, regardless of what happens between the baseball players and owners, the players will never strike again. Conversations with players have convinced him, he says.
Opinion: On the list of 100 reasons why Melvin would never come back from Texas, here is No. 1: Hiring Regan wasn't owner Peter Angelos' mistake (the infamous four-man search committee hired him), but jettisoning Melvin, who was groomed and ideally suited to replace Roland Hemond (and a better candidate than any of those interviewed so far), was Angelos' idea all the way.
Fact: Of the top four candidates in the Orioles' GM hunt (Joe Klein, Gene Michael, Kevin Malone and Mike Port), only Port has been the GM of a division winner (California in 1986).
Opinion: If Ohio State goes undefeated and wins the Rose Bowl, college football once again will have two teams with legitimate claims to the national championship.
Fact: The Maryland football team has scored 12 points in the past four games, against four teams not even close to being ranked.
Opinion: Executive VP of baseball operations with the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks is a nice, pressure-free job for Roland Hemond.
Fact: The Bullets have unloaded all five members of last season's season-opening starting lineup: Kevin Duckworth, Tom Gugliotta, Don MacLean, Scott Skiles and Rex Chapman. Only Gugliotta is starting for his new team.
Opinion: Ranking the four remaining undefeated college football teams: Nebraska, Florida, Ohio State, Florida State.
Fact: Florida State dropped from No. 1 to No. 2 in the Associated Press poll on a weekend when it did not play.
Opinion: This will be a disappointing season for the Stallions if they do anything less than make it back to the Grey Cup.
Fact: The Bidwill Cardinals, coached by defensive specialist Buddy Ryan, are ranked 28th in the NFL in defense.
Opinion: Chris Webber should have surgery on his injured shoulder. It'll hurt the Bullets terribly this season and probably cost them a playoff spot, but the alternative is a chronic condition that will diminish his career in every way.
Fact: The Avalanche beat the Stars the other night -- in a major sport!
Opinion: Mike Tyson's injured thumb wasn't what killed Saturday's fight. The fact that reportedly fewer than 2,000 tickets had been sold was what killed the fight.
Fact: Greg Norman, who just won the PGA Tour money title for the third time, averaged more than $100,000 per event this year.
Opinion: The people who run the Golf Channel are banking on the idea that I will watch anybody play golf.
Fact: The San Francisco 49ers will fly 45,450 miles this season, the Chicago Bears just 8,396.
Opinion: The Cowboys should use Deion Sanders on offense 10 to 15 plays a game. He is a fabulous weapon.
Fact: The Oakland Raiders are still practicing in Los Angeles. (They'll move into a new facility in the Bay Area next year.)
Opinion: New York doesn't deserve to hold another Breeders' Cup after the way it ignored the event last week in the press and at the turnstiles.
Fact (From "Fun Facts to Amaze Your Friends!"): The five former pro footballers who have served in Congress: Chet Chesney, Winfred Denton, LaVern Dilweg, Jack Kemp and Steve Largent. So there.
Opinion: When a player says he retires to spend more time with his family (see: Michael Jordan, Ryne Sandberg), then comes out of retirement, apparently that means he has spent enough time with his family.
Fact: Harry Caray used the phrase "slanty-eyes" in describing Hideo Nomo late in the season, and was anything but contrite when criticized. "If a guy's got a broken arm, he's got a broken arm. If a guy's got slanty eyes, he's got slanty eyes. What's the big deal?" Caray said.
Opinion: Take me out of the ballgame . . .
Fact: San Antonio Spurs center Will Perdue has the largest feet in the NBA, requiring size 21AAAAA shoes.
Opinion: Anyone who cares about Terps sports -- or just good people -- should reserve their very best wishes for Joe Blair, the longtime Maryland publicist who suffered a stroke over the weekend.