Rookie Rebels in Place of a Rebel Yell

Defensive tackle Tim Bowens is working out with the Miami Dolphins again after leaving for a day on a sour note--or maybe because he didn’t want to hit a sour note.

The first-round draft choice from Mississippi bolted an afternoon session because of pranks by his new teammates. Bowens refused to sing his school fight song during a lunchtime hazing session. In playful retaliation, a few veteran teammates hid the 6-foot-4, 330-pound rookie’s shoulder pads in the weight room.

Bowens didn’t find it humorous and decided to leave the training facility and drive to his Miami Beach apartment. He returned the next day.

Trivia time: Who was the only person to manage in at least 2,500 baseball games and play in at least 2,500 games?

Can’t wait: Only 1,412 days until the next World Cup.

From one who knows: John Elway, who knows what it is to face high expectations as a rookie NFL quarterback, has some advice for Heath Shuler, the quarterback drafted by the Washington Redskins from Tennessee.

“The thing Shuler can’t do is try to live up to the expectations,” Elway told Ron Borges of the Boston Globe. “It will be hard enough just to get him where he feels comfortable with the offense. It’s a huge transition, and some people will always expect him to do a little bit more than he does.”

Hard to swallow: From columnist Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Sun-Times: “Which startling revelation was first to shatter your trust in sports: Don King getting indicted for fraud or Hulk Hogan taking steroids?”

Spit and tell: Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry has come out with a home video, “Baseball’s Dirtiest Tricks,” which is available by calling 1 (800) SPITBAL.

Matter of time: Charlie Hough, 46, was asked what was bothering his leg, and the Florida Marlin knuckleballer said: “It’s old.”

Different perspective: Seattle Mariner spokesman Dave Aust notes, “For what it’s worth, the ceiling panels that fell at the Kingdome were as old as (rookie shortstop) Alex Rodriguez.”

Both are 18.

Getting around: Mark McKoy, the Olympic 110-meter hurdles champion, was born in Guyana, won his gold medal as a resident of Canada and is now competing for Austria, where he recently gained citizenship.

Booth partners: When Jimmy Johnson missed a recent Fox TV network media party, he was chided by fellow NFL broadcaster Terry Bradshaw for not showing up. The former Dallas Cowboy coach countered: “Terry talks before he thinks, but I don’t think it would make any difference if he thought first.”

Trivia answer: Fred Clarke, an outfielder/playing manager from 1897 to 1915, mostly with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Quotebook: Darrell Waltrip, on Saturday’s Brickyard 400 stock car race: “I’ve always wanted to go to the Holy Lands and I think Indianapolis is the Holy Land of auto racing.”