Perhaps Blood Isn’t Thicker Than Water

When Scott Ross, 6-2, 215-pound linebacker from El Toro High School, signed a letter of intent to play for USC, El Toro Coach Bob Johnson told the Daily Trojan: “He is an outstanding player. Both he and Scott Spalding are very good.”

Spalding, a 6-5, 250-pound defensive lineman, also was expected to sign with the Trojans.

Last month, he said, “I have USC in my blood.”

Two weeks later, he said he was going to UCLA.

Johnson: “He must have had a transfusion.”

Would-you-believe-it Dept.: USC’s Marcus Cotton, who didn’t miss a game last season in football, was sidelined for Tuesday night’s basketball game against Arizona. Reason: He suffered a slight shoulder separation in practice.

Trivia Time: What was the name of the city in which Ken Brett was hired to manage the baseball team after mentioning the city’s name in a Lite Beer commercial? (Answer below.)

Wait a Minute: Said George Steinbrenner after losing to Don Mattingly in arbitration: “The monkey is clearly on his back. He has to deliver a championship for the Yankees like Reggie Jackson did when he was the highest-paid Yankee.”

When Jackson joined the Yankees in 1977, they were the defending champions in the American League.

Kurt Nimphius of the Detroit Pistons, recalling life with with the Clippers, told the Washington Post: “Things got so embarrassing that I’d just tell people I play for L.A., not the Clippers.”

Add Clippers: Benoit Benjamin, defending his statistics, said: “Everybody expects too much. I just don’t get the ball enough.”

Said Coach Don Chaney: “That’s a crock.”

When Manute Bol was seeing little action for the Washington Bullets early in the season, there were reports he had become arrogant and hard to handle.

Not so, claims teammate Darwin Cook, who says Bol not only is the tallest player in the league but the most entertaining.

“Nute is a walking sideshow,” said Cook. “He’s the most popular player on the team.”

Says New Jersey’s Leon Wood, who played with Bol last season: “Nute’s a funny guy. That’s what people don’t know about him. When we went out somewhere, to a club or party or restaurant, he was the man. All the time. If you wanted to catch a woman, you hung around Nute. He’s the man.”

Now-it-can-be-told dept.: Pitt freshman Rod Brookin told the Washington Post of watching Navy, coached by Paul Evans, in an NCAA playoff game last season: “I saw this coach really losing his mind on the sideline. I turned to my brother and said, ‘I hope I don’t ever have to be coached by a guy like him.’ ”

Evans, of course, now coaches Pitt.

Add Evans: Asked if there was any talk of players transferring after he took the job, he said: “Yeah, from me. I told them, ‘If anybody doesn’t want to do it my way, you’re welcome to hit the door.’ ”

When Jerome Lane complained that his game had been hurt by inconsistent coaching, Evans told him: “There will be no further inconsistencies, Jerome, because for the next three years I’m going to be a complete SOB to you every day.”

Trivia Answer: Utica, N.Y.

Quotebook

Hall of Fame hockey player Gordie Howe, asked if he had ever broken his nose: “No, but 11 other guys did.”