They’re Set for Anything From Four Corners to Four Courses

Members of the University of Georgia’s basketball team know how to attack five opponents. But taking on six pieces of silverware, including a dessert spoon, required special coaching.

After a two-hour cram course in manners from Deborah Lassiter, who runs the Perfectly Polished etiquette school, the Bulldogs were ready for anything.

The entree was prime rib and the dishes were passed politely, unlike the usual procedure in the athletes’ dorm.

“They told me this was the quietest and slowest they have ever eaten,” Lassiter said after the four-course dinner.

“They were great. . . . They were aware of everything that was going on around them; they knew what they were going to do next. They had a good feeling about themselves and what they were going to do.”

Lassiter said she was inspired to approach the school while watching a swim team from another school eat in a local restaurant.

“I guess most important is that I heard them eating, chewing with their mouths open . . . putting the food in faster than they could possibly eat or putting in lots more than they could possibly eat at one time,” she said.

Trivia time: James Naismith, inventor of basketball, also made a contribution to football. What was it?

No end in sight: The turmoil that has racked the New York Mets didn’t end with the regular season.

According to Tom Verducci of Newsday, Howard Johnson will tell General Manager Frank Cashen and Vice President Joe McIlvaine that he intends to remain at third base.

“I don’t want to move,” Johnson said. “I’ve decided that can be worked around. I don’t feel like I should have to move. I don’t feel that solves anything. I’m going to tell Frank and Joe about it.”

Verducci notes that the Mets have considered moving Johnson to first base to allow Gregg Jefferies and Juan Samuel to return to their previous positions. Jefferies, who did not distinguish himself at second base, would replace Johnson at third base. Samuel, who has said he does not want to return to center field, would play second base.

Johnson said in September he would not mind playing first base, as long as a decision was made quickly. But now he says:

“I saw Dave Magadan last weekend and he’s looking forward to playing (first base). He deserves it. I feel more comfortable where I’m at. I’m not saying I couldn’t learn a new position. But who knows how it would affect me or the team? And I don’t think (Manager) Davey (Johnson) wants to move me. I don’t think it does the team any good to move three or four guys around. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Now he tells us: Said Archie Manning, who played quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, Houston Oilers and Minnesota Vikings: “Flag football is my game. I love flag football. I wish I’d been playing that all along.”

Trivia answer: The leather football helmet.

Quotebook: Cincinnati Bengal linebacker Reggie Williams on his attributes: “Speed, strength and the ability to recognize pain immediately.”