Morning Briefing : At 330, Fridge Almost Perfect When Soaking Wet

William Perry reportedly weighs 330 pounds, but Clyde Emrich, weight coach of the Chicago Bears, told the Orlando Sentinel that the Fridge is in good shape as far as body fat is concerned.

He said that Perry has 20% body fat and that he would be perfect at 18%.

In measuring body fat, the body is submerged in a tub of water. Emrich was asked where they found a tub big enough for Perry.

“Lake Michigan,” he said.

Jim Hawker of the London Sun said there has been little reaction to John McEnroe’s absence at Wimbledon.

“There haven’t really been people dancing in the streets or crying about it,” he said. “I think most English people would say, ‘Good riddance. We’re better off without him.’ I think the people here have become a bit weary of John.”

Add Wimbledon: Ion Tiriac, manager of defending champion Boris Becker, told John Feinstein of the Washington Post: “When he is on, it is a devastating, amazing thing to see. I have never seen a player close, not even close to him, when he is on. No one. Some days when he practices, the other guy has to ask him for a chance to hit a few balls. If he just plays normal here, just normal, he will win.

“But he is difficult. He is the most unusual character I have ever met. He is so stubborn. You cannot tell him anything. Everything, he has to find out for himself. Sometimes you have to remind him he isn’t as good as he thinks he is.”

When someone asked Tiriac to explain a loss by Becker in a match in New York in May, Tiriac said: “Why don’t you go ask him? He thinks he’s Jesus Christ.”

Trivia Time: Who are the new NBA coaches at Chicago, San Antonio, Golden State and Portland? (Answer below.)

Wait a Minute: Said Massachusetts native Mike Pagliarulo of the Yankees, after hitting a homer at Boston’s Fenway Park Monday night: “This was my biggest thrill in baseball. I sat in the right-field stands, not far from where my homer landed, in the third game of the 1975 World Series.”

He must have been lonely. The third game was played at Cincinnati.

Tom Heinsohn, on K.C. Jones: “He was my closest friend on the Celtics. If the Russians were downstairs in this building, the one guy I’d want standing next to me is K.C. Jones.”

Bernard King of the New York Knicks wasn’t thrilled with the drafting of Kentucky forward Kenny Walker.

“I don’t think it was a very smart pick at all,” King said. “Walker is a very good player, but the idea in New York isn’t just to get quality players, it’s to compete with Boston. I thought we’d take William Bedford. We could have used him.”

Manager Dave Johnson of the New York Mets, on George Foster: “I think he knows after three years that I’m in his corner. Sometimes it’s a lonely corner.”

Said Ralph Sampson of the Houston Rockets when asked about rumors that he is romantically involved with woman pro basketball player Nancy Lieberman: “I have an endorsement contract with Puma, and she has an endorsement contract with Puma. We know each other. She’s been to a few of our games. That’s it. Don’t give my mother anything else to start worrying about.”

Trivia Answer: Doug Collins at Chicago, Bob Weiss at San Antonio, George Karl at Golden State, and Mike Schuler at Portland.

Quotebook

Hall of Fame outfielder Lou Brock, after playing in the National Old-Timers game at Washington: “The real thrill in this game is to finish it.”