Short stop with M's nets Schill big bucks

Babe Ruth earned baseball's top paycheck in 1927 - $70,000 - and he earned it, hitting a record 60 home runs and driving in 164 runs for what some historians call the best team of all time.

Vaughn Schill raked in $185,000 in just 11 months - and he did it playing Class A ball in the Mariner farm system. Schill, Seattle's fourth-round draft choice last June, walked away from the Lancaster, Calif., JetHawks last month after the Mariners switched him from shortstop, the position he played at Duke, to third base to make room for Antonio Perez, acquired in the Ken Griffey Jr. trade.

"I told him that unless he's got a real intense drive that he's better off doing something else," said Benny Looper, M's director of player development, saying Schill wanted guaranteed playing time. "It takes a lot of dedication to play this game."

Schill's pro career totals: 95 at-bats, .337 batting average and $185,000 - his original signing bonus.

"That's pretty good money for a few weeks' work," Looper said.

Exposed in Iran

Mohsen Rassuli's soccer career in Tehran was, uh, brief.

That's what happens when you take off your jersey and pull down your shorts to celebrate your very first goal, in your very first game, in a 1-0 victory, on television.

Rassuli, a 19-year-old playing for Saipa, had briefs on under his shorts, but under Iran's strict Islamic laws such behavior went well beyond taboo. He was suspended for six months and fined $1,200.

Rassuli apologized, fearing his playing career might have fallen faster than his shorts. He should be counting his blessings - and his fingers and toes.

Suffering from burnout?

If you don't carry a torch for an old flame, it's not too late to start.

For the right price, you can be the proud owner of an Olympic torch from 1960, 1968, 1984 and/or 1996. All four will be up for bid May 18-19 as part of Mastro Fine Sports Auctions' 1,200-piece offering (www.mastrofinesports.com).

Opening bids are $1,900 for the 1960 (Squaw Valley) torch, $1,200 for the 1996 (Atlanta) torch signed by Muhammad Ali and $900 each for the 1968 (Mexico City) and 1984 (Los Angeles) editions.

Only the 1960 torch was the one used to light the Olympic flame. The rest were part of the torch relay - warmup acts.

How much for the Abe Lincoln ball?

Turns out the Mariners aren't the only ones who make "Operation Bullpen" an annual event. A three-year federal investigation under the same code name nabbed 25 people last month for trafficking in fake sports and celebrity memorabilia.

Fake items seized included a baseball supposedly signed by Mother Teresa. The phonied-up names of Mark McGwire, Michael Jordan, Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln and Jerry Garcia also turned up.

Hopefully, they weren't all found on the same item.

Babe on fast-forward

Babe Ruth's $70,000 pay in 1927 equals $660,000 today - or about one-fourth what the average Mariner makes.

- Dwight Perry, The Seattle Times