McGuire’s Ploy: Let ‘Em Sleep

Former Marquette basketball coach Al McGuire, NBC-TV’s analyst on the Temple-Kansas game, was asked about Temple Coach John Chaney’s preference for 5:30 a.m. practices.

McGuire: “If I was recruiting against John, I’d have my secretary call the player he was recruiting at 4 a.m. every morning because that’s what time you have to get up to make it to one of John’s morning practice sessions. I’d tell the kid he could sleep until noon if he played for me.”

Now-it-can-be-told Dept.: From Phil Jackman of the Baltimore Evening Sun: “Similar to Jim Thorpe, it turns out that Dwight Eisenhower picked up a few bucks playing for a baseball team in the summer under the assumed name of D. Brown to save his amateur standing and was never found out. If he had been, would he have had to give back the presidency?”

Add Jackman: “Here it is a couple of years later,” he said, “and I still wonder who voted for Walter Berry of St. John’s as college basketball Player of the Year. What were they watching?”

In the summer, you keep hearing the Metrodome is unsuitable for baseball, and now Mike Ditka says it’s no better for football.

Said Ditka, looking to Chicago’s game Monday night against Minnesota at the Metrodome: “The only thing I think is that they could convert it into the National Armory and it would be more useful than what it is used for now. I know they could grow grass and use it for livestock.”

Trivia Time: Name the only two quarterbacks who have started for teams that were national collegiate and Super Bowl champions. (Answer below.)

For the Record: Maurice Cheeks is not the only active NBA player who has played more than 10 years for the team that drafted him. Chris Warner of West Los Angeles points out that Michael Cooper joined the Lakers the same season.

Today’s Question: Here’s the story, and what’s the sport?: “MELBOURNE, Australia--Towering fast bowler Curtly Ambrose bundled out the Australian tail to assure the West Indies of a 34 run win in their World Series Cup match here. He also held a catch at deep fine leg, off a short ball from Winston Benjamin, to send back Ian Healy.”

Cricket, of course.

Trivia Answer: Joe Namath (Alabama-New York Jets); Joe Montana (Notre Dame-San Francisco 49ers).

Note: When Alabama won in 1964, the final ratings came out before the bowl games. Alabama lost to Texas, 21-17, in the Orange Bowl. In 1966, Ken Stabler quarterbacked Alabama to a perfect season, climaxed by a 34-7 win over Nebraska in the Sugar Bowl, but the national champion was Notre Dame, which had tied Michigan State, 10-10.

Quotebook

Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Richie Adubato, an X’s and O’s fanatic, after watching the Geraldo Rivera brawl: “It didn’t look like he got any weakside help.”