The Truth Is Special to Leonard

Donald Curry sued Sugar Ray Leonard last year, charging that Leonard steered him away from a possible shot at Marvelous Marvin Hagler by advising him to remain a welterweight, thereby clearing the field for Leonard to fight Hagler.

The New York Times reports this exchange between Leonard and an attorney in a deposition:

Leonard: “There was no deceit as far as I’m concerned.”

Question: “Well, what you told him wasn’t accurate, though.”

Leonard: “I’ve told my wife a few things that wasn’t accurate.”

Q. “You’re not alone in that. But we’re not talking about your wife.”

Leonard: “That’s what I’m saying. He’s not that special to me. This is what I’m trying to say. I lie to the media, you know. I tell them things. So I’m trying to figure out what is so special here with this man.”

Not all of the players will be happy to read that umpire Eric Gregg, who once weighed 370, is on a diet. As one player said last year, “When Eric umpires at second base he makes a great background for hitting.”

For the Record: From Ida Macaluso of Fresno, correcting an item in which Vanderbilt was called the Vols instead of the Commodores: “That is tantamount to calling UCLA the Trojans. Besides, Commodores never volunteer.”

Trivia Time: Who holds the New York-San Francisco Giants club record for longest hitting streak? (Answer to follow.)

The Sporting News, in its forecast, picks Oakland and Boston in the American League and San Francisco and the New York Mets in the National League.

The Angels are picked fifth, the Dodgers fourth. The Dodger prospectus ends with this note: “Kirk Gibson has never batted .300, hit 30 homers or driven in 100 runs.”

Actually, Gibson did hit .300 once. In strike-shortened 1981, he batted .328.

Georgetown Coach John Thompson, with his team trailing by 22 points Sunday, cleared his bench with 2:18 left. Temple Coach John Chaney left his regulars in.

Chaney told Joe Gergen of Newsday: “I lost a game in junior high school once. I’m leading by 20 points with two minutes on the clock. The other guy takes his team out, so I take my guys out. He slips his guys back in. We miss some foul shots and now we’re up 8 with 57 seconds left. I put my guys back but it’s too late. He beats me. He shakes my hand after the game and on the way out he turns and gives me this wink, as if to say, ‘I got you.’ ”

Bill Mazeroski is remembered for the home run that beat the New York Yankees, but the biggest impression he made on Pete Rose was as a second baseman, particularly as a pivot man on double plays.

“He was the best,” Rose told the Pittsburgh Press. “He had these legs, see, they were like tree stumps. You slid into him and it was like sliding into that wall over there. You hit him and you got up with sore legs.”

Would-you-believe-it Dept.: In the last 13 years, the highest rebound average in an NCAA tournament has been posted not by Akeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing or any other 7-footer. Larry Bird takes the honors. He averaged 13.4 rebounds a game for Indiana State in 1979-80.

Trivia Answer: Jack Clark, 26 games, in 1978. That year, he also set a club record for doubles in a season, with 46.

Quotebook

Dave Parker of the Oakland A’s, on former Cincinnati Reds teammate Eric Davis: “When I retire I’d like to be his agent.”