His Tennis Game Is All Heart

The Angels’ Jim Abbott, who was born without a right hand, has been an inspiration to many as a successful major league pitcher.

Matt Johnson, a high school student in San Jose, has taken on another sport. Born with no hands, Johnson, 17, plays tennis for Valley Christian High by squeezing the racket between his arms.

“After a while, my players were cheering for him,” rival coach Albert Shehee of the San Jose Academy said. “It was the most incredible, motivational thing I have ever seen. I was watching him with my mouth open.”

From a roster of 21 players, Johnson played No. 5 on the Valley Christian team and had a 3-11 record.

Add Johnson: According to Scott Vigallon of the San Jose Mercury News, Johnson grips the racket by crossing his left forearm over the handle and his right arm under it. “Most of his shots are basic ground shots in which he turns his body in a forehand or backhand hitting motion,” explained Vigallon. “To serve, he’ll take a ball out of his pocket and let it bounce on the ground. Then he’ll catch it on his racket, balance it and fling it straight into the air. Finally, he’ll whack it over the net.”

Trivia time: Who won the most gold medals in Olympic history? (Hint: It was not Mark Spitz).

Petty parade: When Richard Petty announced his retirement after the current racing season, it set off a round of tributes.

Among them was the North Carolina Dept. of Transportation dedicating an eight-mile section of U.S. 220 near Petty’s hometown of Level Cross in his honor “for his contributions to Randolph County and the state of North Carolina.”

No word yet on what the speed limit will be.

Eager fans: The Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles lead the major leagues in advance season-ticket sales.

And No. 4 is the Colorado Rockies, who have yet to play their first game, but have sold more than 24,000 seats for the 1993 season.

Trivia answer: Ray Ewry of the United States won 10 gold medals in the standing high, long and triple jumps between the 1900 and 1908 Games.

If looks could kill: When Bret Saberhagen of the New York Mets struck out part-time pro football player Brian Jordan of the St. Louis Cardinals, he didn’t care much for the hard stare he received from Jordan.

“I felt like saying, ‘What are you staring at? I just threw you three pitches and you missed all of them,’ ” Saberhagen said.

Finding a way: After Dennis Conner scored his first victory over Bill Koch’s boat in the best-of-13 final trials to pick an America’s Cup defender, Angus Phillips of the Washington Post wrote: “Conner turned on the juice from some mystery power source and motored away from Koch & Co. to a 39-second victory in moderate seas and gently building breezes.”

So that’s been Conner’s secret weapon.

Quotebook: Nick Faldo, on Masters champion Fred Couples: “He’s so hot he must be wearing asbestos shorts.”