Shoe Company Gets a Run for Its Money

Dr. Lee Cronk, an anthropologist at the University of Cincinnati who spent two years in Kenya studying the Samburu tribe, took particular note when he saw a new commercial for Nike running shoes.

The commercial depicts Samburu tribesmen running in northern Kenya. The camera slowly pans down to show them wearing new Nikes.

One of the tribesmen speaks in the Maa language, and a subtitle flashes Nike’s latest slogan: “Just do it.”

Not exactly a literal translation, said Cronk, who knows the language.

“What he is really saying is, ‘I don’t want these. Give me big shoes.’ ”

Added Cronk: “I don’t think he had anything against Nikes. I’m sure he thought they were great shoes. I don’t see why they should change it. It is really kind of harmless.”

Trivia time: Who made the first 3-point shot in the NBA? (Answer below).

Mike Marshall already misses his old friend Steve Sax.

Marshall, appearing Thursday at the Bonaventure Hotel at a Dodger luncheon saluting the Hollenbeck Youth Center, said: “I used to not have to get up and speak. This time was usually reserved as the Steve Sax comedy hour. Steve would take the full 15 minutes alloted to the players.”

Manager Tom Lasorda, who also was at the luncheon, reflected on his own youth.

“I was really poor,” he said. “The soles on my shoes were so thin that when I stepped on a coin, I could tell if it was heads or tails.”

Add Lasorda: Police Chief Daryl Gates also was on the dais, and Lasorda didn’t miss the opportunity to flatter him.

“When we go into New York to play the Mets, there are all these police officers lined up there to protect us. I always tell them, ‘You guys make up the second-greatest police force in the world.’

“They say, ‘Who’s No. 1?’ I say L.A., and that’s because of this man right here.”

On this day 20 years ago, Pete Maravich scored 66 points for LSU in a 110-94 win over Tulane.

Trivia answer: Chris Ford of the Boston Celtics against Houston at Boston Garden on Oct. 12, 1979, the night Larry Bird made his NBA debut.

Quotebook

USC basketball coach, George Raveling, attending a banquet along with TV commentator Billy Packer: “Billy was recruited by Kentucky and North Carolina. Kentucky wanted him to go to North Carolina and North Carolina wanted him to go to Kentucky.”