Three Little Old Ladies Gave Him a Big Slice of Humble Pie

Now it can be told: As the Georgetown basketball team prepared to fly out of Washington to the NCAA Mideast Regional in Indianapolis, the Boston Globe reports that three elderly ladies approached Coach John Thompson and offered their congratulations.

Thompson thanked them and shook their hands. The ladies moved on, but after a few steps, one turned back and said, “You did a good job beating Tyson.”

Says Thompson: “The Lord has a way of humbling you.”

Add Thompson: Arkansas Coach Nolan Richardson, who is going to his first Final Four, was asked if he had received any advice from Thompson, who has gone to three.

Richardson: “The only advice he had was get a lead and increase it.”

Ringing truth: Said the Portland Trail Blazers’ Kevin Duckworth, dismissing Magic Johnson’s injury Tuesday night: “The way we were playing, I don’t care if the Lakers had Wilt Chamberlain, we still would have beaten them.”

The implication is that Chamberlain was better than Johnson, but you couldn’t prove it by their championship rings. Magic has five, Wilt two. Also, Magic is one up in NCAA championship rings.

Trivia time: If Akeem Olajuwon of the Houston Rockets continues at his present pace, he will become only the second man to lead the NBA in rebounds and blocked shots in the same season. Who was the first after the NBA started keeping blocked-shot statistics in 1973-74?

Saddle sore: Leon Barmore, women’s basketball coach at Louisiana Tech, made it to the Final Four with a victory over Texas, but said the Lady Techsters were at a disadvantage playing at Austin, home of the Lady Longhorns.

Barmore said he can understand why the NCAA keeps picking Austin as a regional site, because of the popularity of women’s basketball there, but he still thinks it’s unfair.

“This is the fifth time I’ve been to Austin,” he told USA Today. “I ought to buy a condo there.”

Wait a minute: “The great National League pitchers were good hitters,” said ESPN’s Joe Morgan, mentioning the names of Don Drysdale, Bob Gibson and Juan Marichal.

How about Sandy Koufax? He had a lifetime average of .097. Then there was Bob Buhl of the Milwaukee Braves. In 1962, he went 0 for the season, going hitless in 70 at-bats.

Add forgettable quotes: Said Atlanta Falcon defensive back Deion Sanders, claiming that he is tired of trying to combine football and baseball:

“I always wanted time off and now I’m enjoying it. I get up in the morning with nothing to do. I love it. I’ve got a game room in my house--pinball, pool, air hockey, basketball, the works. I don’t even leave my house. I’m just a 23-year-old kid having fun.”

Two days later, he signed with Columbus, triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees.

Trivia answer: Bill Walton of Portland, 1976-77.

Quotebook: Soviet heavyweight boxer Yuri Vaulin, 1987 World Cup champion, on why he’s turning pro in the United States: “I want to be a millionaire.”