Zimmer Is Picture Perfect

In 1986, Don Zimmer was the third base coach of the Chicago Cubs. When Jim Frey was fired as manager and replaced by Gene Michael, Zimmer moved to the New York Yankees, where he also served as the third base coach.

With the Yankees, he rented a home owned by former Yankee shortstop Bucky Dent. It was Dent, of course, who hit the home run that beat the Boston Red Sox in the American League East playoff in 1978.

“I took Bucky’s house in Jersey,” Zimmer told the Boston Globe. “In every room, he has a picture of him hitting that home run. The first time I saw Bucky, I said, ‘I’ve got all your pictures turned face down to the wall.’ ”

The Boston manager in 1978 was Don Zimmer.

Take-your-choice Dept.: Said Duke’s Billy King when asked how he stopped Temple’s Mark Macon Saturday: “I forced him to his left because he’s a great player going to his right.”

Said Duke’s Quin Snyder: “We felt like Macon loved to go left and we wanted to push him right, so Billy was just sitting on his left hand.”

Confused? Maybe Macon was, too.

Trivia Time: Why would it be unique if Oklahoma won the NCAA title and Chicago the NBA title? (Answer below.)

Now-it-can-be-told Dept.: Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post, on Charles Barkley and his love of Snickers when he was known as the Round Mound of Rebound: “As a 300-pound undergraduate at Auburn, Barkley once went through an entire bag of those bite-sized bars during one 30-minute television show. When he had finished and gone, college friend and teammate Mark Cahill stared aghast at the remains.

“ ‘There was nothing left but this little pile of wrappers,’ Cahill said. ‘It was inconceivable.’ ”

Don’t invite Isao Aoki to a Chinese restaurant during a tournament.

“I remember going to one on a Saturday night after I had taken the third-round lead,” he said. “I got a fortune cookie that read, ‘You will take a trip to the desert.’

“The next day I couldn’t get up and down out of two sand traps and lost by a shot.”

Detroit Pistons Coach Chuck Daly, a guest on the television show of Detroit Red Wings Coach Jacques Demers, said: “The difference between us is that if you have a couple of players with bad games, you can ship them to Adirondack. If I have a couple of players with bad games, I get shipped to Adirondack.”

Said pitching coach Whitey Ford after Tommy John, 44, pitched six scoreless innings for the New York Yankees: “It’s the new nerves they put in his arm, probably.”

Said Bernie Lincicome of the Chicago Tribune: “Not new anymore. It was 14 years ago that John had a tendon of his right forearm transplanted to his left elbow. Even his replacement arm is older than most.”

Said Robin Givens, wife of Mike Tyson, when asked what she thought of the length of the Tony Tubbs fight: “They never can be short enough.”

Trivia Answer: Twin brothers would be represented on the two champions. Harvey Grant plays for Oklahoma. Horace Grant plays for Chicago.

Quotebook

Jerry Reynolds, interim coach of the Sacramento Kings: “I’m not Bobby Knight, but I can work on my profanity.”