Who Said John Y. Can Pick ‘Em?

How big is the Kentucky Derby? Well, former Kentucky Gov. John Y. Brown had his choice between going to the race or joining wife Phyllis George in Europe, where she is on assignment for a television network.

Said Brown, who chose the race: “I started to go on the trip. It was a tough choice between the Derby and Phyllis.”

Stand by for a transatlantic call, John.

Utah has trimmed Denver’s advantage to 2-1 and plays at home again tonight in the fourth game of their NBA playoff series. But Utah Coach Frank Layden isn’t happy.

For one thing, Layden says the home-court advantage is overrated.

“That comes from college basketball in the days when the referees were homers,” he said.

Layden says his team is banged up and claims it’s unfair to make the teams play on successive days.

“Do you think they’d run those bleeping Kentucky Derby horses again today?” he said.

For What It’s Worth: Mike Douchant of Sporting News rates USC fourth in the nation in basketball recruiting. His top 10: 1. North Carolina; 2. Louisville; 3. Iowa; 4. USC; 5. Michigan; 6. North Carolina State; 7. Clemson; 8. Oklahoma; 9. Wake Forest; 10. Arizona.

Cedric Maxwell of the Boston Celtics, on Detroit center Bill Laimbeer, who has been involved in rumbles with Larry Bird and Robert Parish: “He flops around like the fat lady at the circus. He couldn’t knock out my wife.”

Add Laimbeer: Says the former Palos Verdes High School star: “I’m probably the only player in NBA who doesn’t make more money than his dad.”

Laimbeer’s father is an executive with Owens-Illinois Inc., a multi-products firm.

Malcolm Moran of the New York Times, on William (The Refrigerator) Perry, the 6-2, 350-pound defensive lineman from Clemson who was drafted No. 1 by the Chicago Bears: “When the Walter Camp Foundation asked about his tuxedo size for an All-American presentation last year, Bob Bradley, the Clemson sports information director, advised them to contact the Greenville Tent and Awning Company.”

Bill Madlock of the Pittsburgh Pirates, after Fernando Valenzuela recovered from a shaky start to beat the Pirates, 6-5: “There probably wouldn’t have been any other pitcher in baseball still in the game in the 10th. A lot of other pitchers, they go seven innings and start looking to the bullpen. He’s just like Bob Gibson and Tom Seaver were when I came up. If you don’t get to them by the sixth inning, you’re not going to get to them. He gets stronger and stronger. That’s what impresses me about him.”

Bob Ferry, general manager of the Washington Bullets, told Larry King of the Sporting News: “Patrick Ewing is going to be an absolute great pro player. He’ll be a dominant figure in the NBA from game one. The team that gets him, and I don’t care what team it is, will improve 50% right off the bat. They would be crazy to trade him, no matter what was offered. I lust for him.”

Add Ewing: Philadelphia 76er scout Jack McMahon told Bill Lyon of the Philadelphia Inquirer: “I remember when I was playing and I was back on defense facing a 3-on-1, and Wilt Chamberlain decided to fill one of the wings. They got him the ball and it was the most frightening sight I’ve ever seen in my life, Wilt coming down on me. I couldn’t bail out fast enough. Ewing has the potential to be like that. First off, he runs very well. But more important, he runs all the time. That’s very rare in a big man.

“Ewing? Oh my, yes, he is a franchise maker.”

Quotebook

San Francisco Giant Manager Jim Davenport, on skipping school as a high school senior in Siluria, Ala., to go to the pool hall with a friend: “The principal dragged us back to school and whipped us with a paddle that had holes in it. I’d been married for over a year and here I was getting a spanking.”