Don’t cross quirky Byrd with pets, loud gum

If you're around PGA Tour golfer Jonathan Byrd, don't snap your chewing gum in his presence. It'll be a brief encounter.

According to his wife, Amanda, Byrd, the defending champion of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, has a few pet peeves, including the gum thing. She told PGATour.com that Byrd never has owned a pet. He also doesn't let her cook breakfast for him and their two kids. He makes the pancakes. Byrd doesn't read the newspaper in the morning, opting for the Bible instead.

Byrd will be at TPC Summerlin on Tuesday to promote this year's Shriners Open, scheduled for Sept. 29 to Oct. 2.

If tournament officials are smart, they'll have a bowl of dark chocolate bars and a jar of peanut butter on hand, as Byrd's one weakness reportedly is mixing the two. He also has a peanut butter and banana sandwich before each round, courtesy of Amanda, whose cooking skills have to be better than that.

■ HONESTY DOESN'T PAY -- Remember the 11-year-old kid from Minnesota who thought he had won $50,000 for making a shot from beyond center ice at a charity hockey game last month while pinch hitting for his twin brother?

Well, the insurance company that was supposed to pay the prize decided not to give Nate Smith the money, even though the family came clean on the switch.

Odds On Promotions claimed that once Nate substituted himself for his brother, Nick, it voided the terms of the contract. Nick's name had been drawn from a raffle, but he was outside the rink. So Nate took Nick's place, and he made the incredible shot.

Instead, the company decided it will make a $20,000 donation to youth hockey programs in Minnesota, so at least someone will benefit from Nate's skill.

■ LUCKY HAIRCUT? -- Rafael Nadal continued a tradition he started five years ago while competing at the U.S. Open. He got his hair cut on Thursday.

But it's not a trip to Supercuts. Nadal goes to the swanky Julien Farel Salon in Manhattan and has the owner himself do the trimming.

"He can only win if he sees me," Farel told the New York Post.

Nadal won his first U.S. Open last year. So where was all that winning beforehand? If he wins back-to-back titles next weekend, then Farel can boast.

■ TOO LONG -- Yankees-Red Sox games are notoriously long affairs. But Thursday night's top of the first inning at Fenway Park might have taken things too far.

Despite scoring just one run, the Yankees needed 38 minutes to record their three outs -- all strikeouts by Boston's Jon Lester.

By comparison, the Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals played the entire first quarter of their preseason game and were early into the second as the Red Sox finally were preparing to take their first at-bats against A.J. Burnett.

It took 4 hours, 21 minutes to play nine innings as the Yankees won, 4-2.

COMPILED BY STEVE CARP
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL