At Least, He Got a Kick Out of It

In the final regular-season game between Wyoming and New Mexico, Sean Dent of Wyoming missed the front end of a one-and-one in the final seconds, and New Mexico went on to win, 92-89.

Gary Colson, the New Mexico coach, didn’t forget. In a rematch Saturday in the championship game of the Western Athletic Conference tournament, New Mexico was trailing, 61-59, when Colson ordered the Lobos to foul Dent, a 57% free-throw shooter who hadn’t yet taken a shot in the game.

With 21 seconds left, Dent made the first free throw but missed the second. New Mexico then hit on a three-pointer to tie the score at 62-62. New Mexico immediately called a timeout, and again Colson ordered the Lobos to foul Dent.

That they did. But, this time, with 11 seconds left, Dent made both free throws, and Wyoming led, 64-62. New Mexico still had a chance to win on a three-pointer at the buzzer, but the shot was blocked--by Dent, of course.

Would Colson do the same thing again?

Wrote Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post: “When asked afterward if his logic was flawed, the New Mexico coach spat four-letter words, clobbered a microphone, stomped across the interview room, kicked open a door and was gone.”

From the Denver Post, reporting that Manute Bol of the Washington Bullets passed his driver’s test last week: “He’s got a Bronco, with the front seat pushed back--way back.”

Said Dwight Gooden after his first outing for the New York Mets Sunday: “I thought I threw well, but my location was off.”

Sort of. The St. Louis Cardinals pounded him for nine runs in the first inning, including a grand slam by Terry Pendleton.

Trivia Time: Idaho State, named to the NCAA basketball tournament for the first time in 10 years, did what the last time in the regional at Provo, Utah? (Answer below.)

If you’ve wondered what Boston pitcher Oil Can Boyd was watching on those unreturned videos that got him into trouble with the Polk (Fla.) County police, here’s the list as supplied by Richard Justice of the Washington Post: “Ninja III,” “Fists of Fury,” “Nudes in Limbo,” “Sex Etc.” and “It’s Alive.”

If you doubted that Don Mattingly is a scientific hitter, here’s what he told Shirley Povich of the Washington Post about a problem last year: “I was being robbed of extra-base hits because they weren’t going through the deep alleys. I was getting backspin on the ball and my hits were slowing up. So I squared around a little and started getting the topspin I wanted.”

Note: In his first spring game this year, Mattingly went 2 for 2. In his second one Sunday, he had two singles and a grand slam.

Fashion Note: When Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon visited Dr. Frank Jobe at Dodgertown last week, he wore blue reflector sunglasses, a Tom Lasorda headband and a Dodger jersey with No. 9 on it.

Trivia Answer: It beat UCLA, 76-75, in Gene Bartow’s last game as Bruin coach. Said The Times headline the next day: “THE BIG SKY FALLS IN ON THE BRUINS.”

Quotebook

Kevin McHale of the Boston Celtics, on teammate Jerry Sichting, a former Indiana high school star who reviewed the movie “Hoosiers” in the Boston Herald: “Rex Reed, he’s not.”