Light the candles (and the cigarettes)

Look whose life is about to card a front-nine 40.

"It's been a hard 39," hard-living golfer John Daly, who celebrates his 40th birthday on April 28, told Golf Digest. "Fuzzy Zoeller keeps saying I'll never make it to 50. But if he did, I think I will. "I used to be a lightning rod. Now I'm just thunder."

Sweet-science major

According to USA Today, boxing promoter Roy Englebrecht conducted a three-day "Fight Promoter University" this week in Irvine, Calif., complete with a tongue-in-cheek MBA degree — Masters of Boxing Administration.

The steep $1,995 tuition fee, we assume, comes with a complimentary class ring.

Point taken

Holland might have to take a stab at tougher safety rules, the Dutch Consumer Safety Council told Reuters, after one burgeoning sport produced 120 injuries from thrown implements and falling targets last year.

But enough about pub darts.

Heroes, zeroes

What a difference four years made for the suddenly inert Canadian men's hockey team at the Winter Olympics:

• 2006: Going for a goal.

Here's the scoop

Headline at seattletimes.com: "S.F. eyes dog doo as power source."

In fact, giddy proponents say, the Bay Area hasn't seen a power boost this promising since the days of flaxseed oil.

The reel deal

Don't know how your office pool played out, but the No. 1 pick in our Bassmaster Classic fantasy draft was angler Mike Wurm.

Paging David Justice

The World Series champs won't be the only ones getting their rings at Cellular One Field this season.

The Chicago White Sox have scheduled a group-wedding promotion before their June 3 game against the Texas Rangers, with a $500 fee covering the cost of the vows — or re-vows — and two tickets to the game.

Divorce Night, we assume, will be staged right before the July 31 trade deadline.

Talking the talk

• L.A. sports-radio host Brooks Melchior, on reports that HBO's "The Sopranos" will sponsor Clint Bowyer's car for the March 12 NASCAR race in Las Vegas: "Here's hoping nobody opens the trunk."

• Jerry Greene of the Orlando Sentinel, on Sammy Sosa turning down an offer to play for the Washington Nationals: "You really think he wants to be working across the street from Congress?"

• Joe Biddle of the Nashville Tennessean, on Janet Jones' next movie appearance: "Honey, I Shrunk the Bank Account."

Blank slate

Arthur Blank, a co-founder of Home Depot, says he's no longer trying to buy the Atlanta Braves.

Apparently he's looking for more of a rebuilding project.

Dwight Perry: 206-464-8250 or dperry@seattletimes.com