Weaver Wants to Work 23 Games, Not 162

Earl Weaver says he never will manage again, unless he needs the money. Right now, he doesn’t need the money.

He told Tony Kornheiser of the Washington Post: “Look, I turned down six jobs, one for over $1 million, just from Sept. 15 to the winter meetings. At this time there is no team I’d accept the job from. I turned down six. If 26 would have asked, I’d have turned down 26.”

Weaver is disappointed over losing his job with ABC, because he thinks he was a good analyst.

“But to be a good journalist you have to ask controversial questions,” he said. “I didn’t want to. What was the point of asking questions I already knew the answers to? Even if I don’t agree with them, I know why managers make their moves.”

He added wistfully: “That was the perfect job--23 days a year.”

Bob Sudyk of the Hartford Courant, on the plight of writers covering the Boston Red Sox camp: “They have been attempting to draw blood from the proverbial stone, Manager John McNamara in this case.”

Said McNamara after hearing complaints: “I’ve always thought it was better to be quiet and thought to be ignorant, than open my mouth and remove all doubt.”

Said WBA heavyweight champion Greg Page, of his scheduled title defense against Tony Tubbs April 29: “What I’m going to try to do is, I’m going to try to break his neck.”

When somebody wondered if Page was indulging in promotional hype, Page said: “This is not pre-fight hype. I’m not going to try to literally break his neck, but I’m going to put him in a coma.”

That’s better.

From Franklin Mieuli, owner of the Golden State Warriors, in defense of his trading Bernard King to the New York Knicks in 1982: “Bernard was a small forward, he had had a drug problem just two years before. He wanted very close to a million dollars. New York knew the only way to get him was to overpay him.

“People say, ‘You lost Bernard King.’ OK, we did lose Bernard King. But we ended up getting Sleepy Floyd and Mickey Johnson. It wasn’t a total giveaway.”

King’s salary is $874,000. That ranks seventh among NBA forwards. Among those ahead of him are Mitch Kupchak and Bob McAdoo, neither a starter with the Lakers.

The closest Lou Carnesecca ever came to a national title was in 1970 when St. John’s, led by Billy Paultz, went to the NIT final.

Unfortunately for him, that was the year that another St. John’s alumnus, Al McGuire, was piqued with the NCAA over its regional assignments. McGuire decided to take his Marquette team to the NIT.

Marquette, sparked by Dean Meminger, beat St. John’s, 65-53.

Lee Trevino, in Golf World, tells what separates the great from the nearly great: “Killer instinct. I’ve got it, all the winners have it, like Nicklaus, Palmer, Hogan, Player, Miller and Watson. I always find some way to play to a good score even if not swinging well. That’s killer instinct.”

Quotebook

Announcer Tim McCarver, on being contacted by the St. Louis Cardinals before they hired Dal Maxvill as general manager: “We had a preliminary discussion. Just like I had a preliminary discussion about the Expos’ managing job and a preliminary discussion with ABC. Preliminary discussions are my forte.”