These Guys Are Just Fowl-Shooting Team

Despite its frequent successes in basketball, Syracuse seems to have had problems at the foul line. That brought this observation from the Washington Post’s Tony Kornheiser:

“Remember two years ago when Delta Air Lines was scheduled to arrive in Lexington, Ky., and landed 20 miles away in Frankfort instead? Even that plane was more accurate than the Orangemen are from the foul line.”

The same night Kornheiser wrote that, Syracuse sank 12 of its last 14 free throws and beat Seton Hall.

How foul is he?Syracuse’s Stevie Thompson is one reason for the Orangemen’s reputation. He shoots 64.5% from the field and 40.3% from the line.

Wrote Kornheiser: “When he goes to shoot foul shots he might as well bring a seeing-eye dog.”

Trivia: In the history of the PGA Tour, only Al Geiberger, at Memphis in 1977, has shot a round of 59. Seven golfers have shot a 60, however. Who was the most recent?

Indiana pastime: What is it about basketball coaches in Indiana and chairs? First it was Bob Knight, now it’s Coach Dick Versace of the Indiana Pacers.

Versace, who threw a chair to the ground after he was ejected with 51 seconds left in the third quarter of a game against the Phoenix Suns, claims innocence.

“I just kind of bounced it around a little bit,” he said. “It was definitely premeditated. If it hadn’t been premeditated, the chair would have been at center court. I wanted to get the crowd involved and get some edge. I just bounced it. I’ll never throw a chair.”

Words to live by.

The base stealer: The Cincinnati Reds’ Eric Davis has stolen 191 bases in 216 attempts, an 88.4% success rate. Yet he claims not to pay much attention to that part of his game.

Davis says the other demands placed on him--chasing down balls in the gap, knocking in runs--take precedence over stealing.

“I do so many things,” he said. “I have to slack off somewhere.”

How to steal ‘em: Davis says he has a different approach than another accomplished base thief, St. Louis outfielder Vince Coleman.

“Vince’s main priority is to steal,” Davis said. “He’ll steal if they’re up seven runs or down seven. But that’s just padding your stats. I like it when the pitcher tries to hold you on and the whole ballpark knows you’re going. That’s what I call stealing bases.”

Trivia answer: The last player to shoot a 60 was Sam Snead at the Dallas Open 32 years ago.

Quotebook: Syracuse basketball Coach Jim Boeheim on his team’s often inept free-throw shooting: “The first half, I just figure we’re going to miss them all.”