Let’s Hope He Changes His Socks More Often

Marshall Coach Bobby Pruett has worn the same pair of shoes to football practice every day.

For going on nine years.

That’s because those shoes are 91-14 since he got them in 1994 as an assistant coach at Florida. They’re 69-11 at Marshall.

“Hard to get them off me now, you know what I’m saying?” Pruett said. The coach even has a special way of talking about his favorite footwear.

“They’re not ‘The Shoes,’ ” he said. “They’re not even ‘THE Shoes.’ They’re ‘THUH Shoes.’ ”

Pruett has given equipment managers the responsibility of keeping the tattered things wearable. They’ve had to use glue, tape, needle and thread.

“Every equipment guy I’ve had has glued them up,” Pruett said. “That’s part of his responsibilities. If they come in and say, ‘We can’t do it,’ I say, ‘Yeah, you can too. Or we’ll find a new equipment manager.’

“I mean, those are ‘Thuh Shoes.’ ”

Trivia time: Who are Aubrey Huff and Felix Escalona?

Check your contract: You’ve heard about them before, the outrageous clauses that appear in athletes’ contracts.

Raef LaFrentz of the Dallas Mavericks has one you might not have encountered.

No dueling.

“Dueling? You mean like with swords? I can guarantee that I won’t be dueling,” LaFrentz told Bloomberg News.

LaFrentz agreed to other clauses that say he won’t get paid if he is injured while boxing, riding a motorcycle or deliberately exposing himself to extreme danger, except to save a life.

The old ballpark: The problem with quaint old ballparks is ... they’re old ballparks.

An engraving above the main grandstand at Luther Williams Field in Macon, Ga., reads, “Macon Base Ball Park,” a link to a time when the game was a lot younger.

Kenesaw Mountain Landis threw out the first pitch 73 years ago. Jackie Robinson, Ted Williams, Pete Rose and Chipper Jones made stops too.

But the Atlanta Braves are moving their Class-A affiliate to Rome, Ga., where voters approved funding to build a $15-million stadium.

Atlanta infielder Marcus Giles played at Macon in 1998 and remembers it fondly. He recalls the drainage problems, however.

“It stayed pretty soaked,” he said. “There were some games where, after a rain delay, they put up yellow tape from right center all the way to the foul pole, about 10 to 20 feet short of the wall. Anything in there was a ground-rule double.”

Letting go: Atlanta first base coach Glenn Hubbard isn’t nostalgic. He coached in Macon and remembers a month-long trip in 1994, after the Ocmulgee River had flooded the park.

“It’s time to move on. History is inside of you, the memories,” he said. “Hey, my house burned down a few years ago. That gave me a new perspective. I learned that all the things I had were just things.”

Trivia answer: Huff and Escalona are regulars for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who recently played the Angels and have the worst record in the majors.

And finally: Stan Musial, on how he answers questions about whether he or Ted Williams was the better hitter: “When I get asked about Ted Williams, I always say, ‘He was good too.’ ”

Robyn Norwood

Marshall Coach Bobby Pruett has worn the same pair of shoes to football practice every day.

For going on nine years.

That’s because those shoes are 91-14 since he got them in 1994 as an assistant coach at Florida. They’re 69-11 at Marshall.

“Hard to get them off me now, you know what I’m saying?” Pruett said.

The coach even has a special way of talking about his favorite footwear.

“They’re not ‘The Shoes,’ ” he said. “They’re not even ‘THE Shoes.’ They’re ‘THUH Shoes.’ ”

Pruett has given equipment managers the responsibility of keeping the tattered things wearable. They’ve had to use glue, tape, needle and thread.

“Every equipment guy I’ve had has glued them up,” Pruett said. “That’s part of his responsibilities. If they come in and say, ‘We can’t do it,’ I say, ‘Yeah, you can too. Or we’ll find a new equipment manager.’

“I mean, those are ‘Thuh Shoes.’ ”

Trivia time: Who are Aubrey Huff and Felix Escalona?

Check your contract: You’ve heard about them before, the outrageous clauses that appear in athletes’ contracts.

Raef LaFrentz of the Dallas Mavericks has one you might not have encountered.

No dueling.

“Dueling? You mean like with swords? I can guarantee that I won’t be dueling,” LaFrentz told Bloomberg News.

LaFrentz agreed to other clauses that say he won’t get paid if he is injured while boxing, riding a motorcycle or deliberately exposing himself to extreme danger, except to save a life.

The old ballpark: The problem with quaint old ballparks is ... they’re old ballparks.

An engraving above the main grandstand at Luther Williams Field in Macon, Ga., reads, “Macon Base Ball Park,” a link to a time when the game was a lot younger.

Kenesaw Mountain Landis threw out the first pitch 73 years ago. Jackie Robinson, Ted Williams, Pete Rose and Chipper Jones made stops too.

But the Atlanta Braves are moving their Class-A affiliate to Rome, Ga., where voters approved funding to build a $15-million stadium.

Atlanta infielder Marcus Giles played at Macon in 1998 and remembers it fondly. He recalls the drainage problems, however.

“It stayed pretty soaked,” he said. “There were some games where, after a rain delay, they put up yellow tape from right center all the way to the foul pole, about 10 to 20 feet short of the wall. Anything in there was a ground-rule double.”

Letting go: Atlanta first base coach Glenn Hubbard isn’t nostalgic. He coached in Macon and remembers a month-long trip in 1994, after the Ocmulgee River had flooded the park.

“It’s time to move on. History is inside of you, the memories,” he said. “Hey, my house burned down a few years ago. That gave me a new perspective. I learned that all the things I had were just things.”

Trivia answer: Huff and Escalona are regulars for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who recently played the Angels and have the worst record in the majors.

And finally: Stan Musial, on how he answers questions about whether he or Ted Williams was the better hitter: “When I get asked about Ted Williams, I always say, ‘He was good too.’ ”

Robyn Norwood