Ralph Branca

Pitchers who have given up key playoff or World Series home runs, and what happened to their careers afterward: RALPH BRANCA * 25-year-old Brooklyn Dodger pitcher who gave up Bobby Thomson's homer that gave the New York Giants the 1951 NL pennant Aftermath: Pitched only 23 more games for the Dodgers before going to Detroit. Ended his career with the Yankees in 1954. Pitched one game for Dodgers in 1956.

The sports nut's recurring dream: You're presented with a time machine. You can dial up and attend any 20th century sporting event. Front-row seat. If being at New York's Polo Grounds 48 years ago today isn't No. 1 on your list, it is for many others. With one swing of his bat that day, Bobby Thomson gave baseball a moment treasured to this day by people who weren't even there. Or maybe they heard Russ Hodges' unforgettable, hoarse radio call: "The Giants win the pennant!

What: "Dick Schaap's Flashing Before My Eyes" Where: ESPN Classic, tonight, 6 and 10 First came Dick Schaap's autobiography, "Flashing Before My Eyes." Now comes this one-hour television special based on the book, with Schaap serving as the host and narrator. You don't have to be a Schaap fan to enjoy it. Nor do you have to be a sports fan, because not all the stories are about sports.

Along the way, Carl Erskine (no relation) has seen some things. A curveball artisan and one of the famed Boys of Summer, he was in the Dodgers' dugout during Don Larsen's perfect game and shared the bullpen when Ralph Branca was summoned to pitch to Bobby Thomson in what is probably still the most famous bomb of all time. "People always ask me, 'What's your best pitch?'" Erskine says, a twinkle in his eye. "I tell 'em that's easy. 'It's the curveball I buried in the bullpen that day. Otherwise that could've been me.'" Yep, along the way, Carl Erskine has seen some things, all right, played along Jackie Robinson and Duke Snider on those beloved Brooklyn teams of the '50s.

When it comes to crunch time, Chicago Bull Coach Phil Jackson said the team goes to what assistant coach John Bach calls the Archangel Offense. Jackson: "That's where we give the ball to Michael Jordan and say, 'Save us, Michael.' " Add Jordan: TNT analyst Doug Collins, who coached the Bulls last season, told the Philadelphia Daily News: "I love Dennis Rodman, but Michael plays tougher defense than Dennis.

NEW YORK - Above all else, Rachel Robinson remembers the kissing. When the taunts at the ballpark grew too fierce and the naysayers too loud, her husband, Jackie, would come home to their Brooklyn apartment and the couple would try to block out the world. "So many people are curious about how we were at home, thinking that we brought all the anger and chaos in there with us," Rachel Robinson, 90, said last week as she perched behind a desk at the gleaming offices of the education foundation she runs in lower Manhattan.

Art Thiel of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer commenting on New York Yankee Manager Joe Torre, who picked seven of his players for the American League all-star team: "The question is: Why did [he] stop at seven? The answer: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio up and died on him. Actually, the reason he picked seven Yankees, or eight or nine for that matter, is simpler: For the same reason a dog licks himself. "Because he can.

Steve Trachsel couldn't beat Mark McGwire, so he's looking to join him. The Chicago Cubs' pitcher became a part of baseball infamy Tuesday night by allowing McGwire's 62nd home run. Now he's looking to stand alongside the St. Louis slugger in commercials and advertisements, his agent, Alan Meersand, told Bloomberg News.

New Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Dennis Eckersley may have given up that home run to Kirk Gibson in the 1988 World Series, but he doesn't believe that was as bad as what the Brooklyn Dodgers' Ralph Branca did in 1951. Bobby Thomson's home run off Branca -- "the shot heard 'round the world" -- sent the New York Giants to the World Series. "I'd rather be me than him," Eckersley said. "That home run was bigger than mine. Mine was the first game of the World Series.

Gerry Callahan of the Boston Herald said in Morning Briefing that Wednesday night's game between the Oakland Athletics and Boston Red Sox, which began at 7 p.m. in Oakland, would end too late to make most East Coast newspaper deadlines.Well, the 4-hour 37-minute game ended about 11:45 p.m., too late for the final score to make some West Coast papers. * Trivia time: What is the longest major league baseball game ever played?