The Long, Hot Summer

NAMES OF THE GAME: It’s officially summer in San Diego. The sun is shining. The seagulls are scavenging. And the natives are sizzling. Can the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club be far behind? Certainly not. Each July, for more than half a century, the locals have celebrated that most San Diego of summer rituals known as OMBAC’s World Championship Over-the-Line Tournament. This year’s games are played out, as usual, on Fiesta Island—July 10 and 11, 17 and 18. More than a thousand teams, some from as far away as Japan and Iceland, vie in a contest the late sports scribe Scott Stewart once described as “basically a three-man softball game—the way Farrah Fawcett is basically an actress.” Over-the-line, of course, refers not only to the games but to the terminally sleazy team names. Most aren’t suitable for a family magazine, but a few printable, if tasteless, entries follow: Osama bin Laden on the Sand Once Again; Paris Hilton’s Three Ugly Lovers; Britney Spears’ Ex-Husbands; The Forgotten Democratic Presidential Candidates. And finally, nods to America’s most-misunderstood showbiz family: Michael Jackson’s Day Care Center and Janet Jackson’s Nipple Ring Bearers. Play ball.

GOING LEGIT: Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger were actors-turned-governors. Now comes Pete Wilson, the governor-turned-actor. Wilson, who’s done more than a few turns as a song-and-dance man with his wife, Gayle, makes his debut on the legitimate stage this fall. On September 27 —one night only—Pete and Gayle will appear on the Old Globe stage in A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters. They’re not in it for the money. The show is billed as a benefit for something called the Let’s Put on a Show Foundation. Shades of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland?

SAN DIEGO SEEN: The opening-night audience for the movie The Day After Tomorrow at Horton Plaza found unintended comedy in the sci-fi thriller. The story line has a polar ice storm spreading southward, chasing U.S. residents farther south to escape the deadly freeze. The big guffaw came when a TV newscast carried a warning that Mexico was closing its borders to the hordes of illegal American aliens crossing into that country ... Name game: The new president of the local Building Industry Association is Jack Carpenter ... How the other half parties: For a family birthday celebration, Bill Gates hosted a thousand close friends and family at the San Diego Zoo. And pop singer Jessica Simpson provided the music—a reported $200,000 worth. Chump change for Mr. Microsoft.

QUOTEWORTHY: As we move into the thick of what may be the most acrimonious U.S. presidential campaign ever, I’m reminded of former San Diego City Councilman Tom Behr’s sage observation. “Redundancy,” said Behr, “is an airbag in a politician’s car.”

OUTSIDE IN: For the Padres—the team that introduced white wine and sushi at the ballpark—it’s just a natural. Now they’ve hired their own personal Pilates instructor. Leading the trendy workout program: Del Mar’s Julian Littleford, a former principal ballet dancer with the Martha Graham company, who’ll fashion individualized Pilates programs for players and on-field staff. And maybe help David Wells avoid all those clumsy accidents ... While thousands of Arizona fugitives flood our beaches as usual this summer, their state is launching a campaign to convince them to vacation closer to home. State tourism officials have issued a release insisting hot is really cool. “Arizona’s low humidity,” it says, “really makes the air temperature feel cooler than it actually is. While 100-degree days may be miserable in other parts of the nation because of high humidity, Arizona is really quite pleasant in the summer.” Hear that, Zonies?

FOOT-IN-MOUTH: Sylvester Murray, San Diego’s city manager, briefly, back in the ’80s, made the pages of the Cincinnati Post last month. Nothing suitable for the scrapbook. Murray, the Post reported, has been ordered to pay penalties for misleading an Ohio judge. That was after he first agreed he was overpaid $37,000 by a nonprofit agency, promised to return it, then allegedly refused. Of course Murray’s no stranger to controversy. He moved on to become Cincinnati’s city manager after he left San Diego rather abruptly. Murray went down in flames here when he was quoted as saying that, as an African-American, it gave him an “orgasm” to be the boss of San Diego’s police.

CROOKS ARE STUPID: San Diego police went to the rescue of a man in the early hours of the morning when he called to report he was locked inside a Barrio Logan auto body shop. Sure enough, they found him a short time later inside the business in the 3700 block of Main Street. Now he’s locked in someplace else. The cops arrested the man on suspicion of being under the influence of drugs and possession of a sawed-off shotgun. He was taking a quick time-out from burglarizing the shop, they say, when he locked himself in the bathroom.

Listen for Tom Blair’s Friday reports on KOGO News Radio (600 AM) at 7:25 a.m. You can also hear his radio column at sandiegomag.com. Items for the magazine or radio may be e-mailed to tblair@sandiegomag.com.

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