Supersitions

The sod lives, and it's growing. The Dodgers packed up their lucky sod and flew it with the team from Pittsburgh to St. Louis, where they had it in their dugout and bullpen in Monday's victory over the Cardinals. Then they began talking about it as a fixture and promotional item. What began as a quaint charm to ward off evil artificial turf spirits now threatens to spin out of control. "We've got a little momentum going," said pitcher Orel Hershiser. "We're the Sod Squad.

The night was cold--too cold for baseball--and something was horribly wrong. John Link sensed it when he found his Sonora High players huddled next to the field, waiting to play a semifinal game in the recent Glendora tournament. "Where's Hoot?" he asked. Ryan Owens sheepishly ventured forward. "I left him in my truck." Link and co-coach Pat Tellers shot each other a look; this was a portentous event. Hoot, a plastic owl, is the Raiders' good-luck charm.

Amanda Beard doesn't believe in luck. It wasn't luck, she said, that crowned her with championships in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke at the U.S. Olympic trials in Indianapolis last month. It wasn't luck that pushed her to the wall in 2 minutes 26.25 seconds in the 200, the second-fastest time ever by an American woman. And it wasn't that teddy bear either. At the trials, 14-year-old Beard carried a teddy bear around the pool deck.

Amanda Beard doesn't believe in luck. It wasn't luck, she said, that crowned her with championships in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke at the U.S. Olympic trials in Indianapolis last month. It wasn't luck that pushed her to the wall in 2 minutes 26.25 seconds in the 200, the second-fastest time ever by an American woman. And it wasn't that teddy bear either. At the trials, 14-year-old Beard carried a teddy bear around the pool deck.

The night was cold--too cold for baseball--and something was horribly wrong. John Link sensed it when he found his Sonora High players huddled next to the field, waiting to play a semifinal game in the recent Glendora tournament. "Where's Hoot?" he asked. Ryan Owens sheepishly ventured forward. "I left him in my truck." Link and co-coach Pat Tellers shot each other a look; this was a portentous event. Hoot, a plastic owl, is the Raiders' good-luck charm.

The sod lives, and it's growing. The Dodgers packed up their lucky sod and flew it with the team from Pittsburgh to St. Louis, where they had it in their dugout and bullpen in Monday's victory over the Cardinals. Then they began talking about it as a fixture and promotional item. What began as a quaint charm to ward off evil artificial turf spirits now threatens to spin out of control. "We've got a little momentum going," said pitcher Orel Hershiser. "We're the Sod Squad.