Scorecard

The upcoming general election pits Rizzo against Thacher Longstreth, the Republican candidate, who also happens to own a large block of shares in Cloverlay, the management concern that directs Frazier. This cuts no new ice with Frazier, though. He says he definitely will not endorse anybody for the Philadelphia mayoralty because, he adds, "I don't know much about politics."

BARBIE GOES PHYS ED

Who says Barbie is just another dumb blonde who only goes to parties? Barbie has turned into a regular little decathlon champ. You can buy the doll in a plaid golf outfit, in ski and skate ensembles, in a wow little tennis dress and in scuba gear, complete with red fins and a snorkel. You can even buy Barbie now in leotards, with barbells (which, as everybody knows, is not only healthy but adds inches to the bustline). Barbie has a horse now, and a camper and a beach buggy.

In fact, Barbie has gotten so healthy they have had to bring out the new Malibu Barbie, which is Barbie with pink sunglasses, sun-bleached hair and the most fabulous suntan you ever saw. And have no fear. Ken, Francie and Skipper also come in a Malibu shade. And they all have their little beach towels, too. Next year we expect Barbie to have her own surfboard and volleyball net—if she doesn't go to Munich.

SIESTA, POR FAVOR

Perhaps sometime before the Belmont this Saturday, Canonero II's handlers will forget false national pride and scratch the horse. We hope so. He is in bad shape and has been for a week. He has a skin disease, his ankles are burned behind (that is, he has "run down" on Belmont's deep track), and he has been suffering from thrush, a painful fungus infection like athlete's foot, found underneath the frog of the hoof (his right hind one).

If there were not the pressures to run for the greater glory of Venezuela and the greater handle of Belmont, Canonero would have been scratched long ago and saved to race when he is fit. To pretend that he is a miracle horse with recuperative powers to match his heart is a whimsy that can only hurt the colt, and his reputation, and the people—bettors and laymen alike—who have come to love him.

SMART BASS
For more than 30 years anglers have been fishing for largemouth bass in the experimental Ridge Lake under the scrutiny of scientists from the Illinois Natural History Survey. Now, according to Dr. George Bennett of the Survey, this concentrated fishing has had an impact on the lake's bass population: the dumber fish have been eliminated, leaving what the doctor calls "a race of supersmart bass." Early last year Dr. Bennett drained the lake, counted all the bass and then returned them alive and well. There were a total of 65 three- to eight-pound bass, and not a single one has been caught since. Says Dr. Bennett, "The large ones are so smart now they don't even look at fishermen's bait."

WHO NEEDS PARIS IN THE SPRING?

The Grand Slam in tennis is dead. It has been constituted of the championships of Australia, France, Great Britain and the U.S., but the field that competed in the French Open the last two weeks lacked so many top players—including Laver, Rosewall, Newcombe, Roche, Okker—that to classify it as a "major" tournament is farcical.