Blue Devils Don’t Need Reminders

With Duke playing Nevada Las Vegas in the Final Four Saturday, the Blue Devil players no doubt will be asked all week about the 103-73 loss to UNLV in last year’s title game.

Actually, the questions have already started. Junior swingman Brian Davis, asked what he remembered about the loss to Las Vegas, said: “It’s the first time I ever cried after a game.”

Coach Mike Krzyzewski, who was within earshot, said: “It’s the first time I ever cried during a game. Think about me. There I was with nine minutes to go trying to find a hole in the floor. We didn’t learn anything from the UNLV loss, it was no growth experience and it won’t be included in a video of Duke’s motivational tapes.”

Bye, Bye, Bo: When Bo Jackson cleaned out his locker and said his goodbys, Royal teammate George Brett had this thought: “It was unbelievable. It was like watching a heavyweight champion lose.”

Trivia question: What is Bo Jackson’s real name?

Sore loser?: San Diego’s failure to win the 1993 Super Bowl in a bidding contest with Pasadena’s Rose Bowl did not sit well with citizens there.

Councilman Wes Pratt’s comment: “I guess the bottom line with both the GOP and the National Football League is money.”

Tsk, tsk.

Close call: Rocco Mediate collected $252,000 in winning the rain-delayed Doral Open, but he was lucky the tournament wasn’t rained out one more day. When he arrived home in Ponte Vedra, Fla., he found a notice on the door saying his power would be turned off it he didn’t pay the electric bill.

“I only had two hours left,” Mediate said. “I’d been on the road so long, I guess it just slipped my mind. But I’ll tell you, it was one of those panic situations at the time.”

Big mouth: According to eyewitnesses, Tom McVie, the coach of the New Jersey Devils, can do a trick that makes him the hit of any party. He can put three pucks (yes, that’s right--three) in his mouth.

After removing his false teeth, of course.

Language barrier: Terry Price of the Hartford Courant learned some intriguing items about life in the World League of American Football when he chatted with Jack Bicknell, coach of the Barcelona Dragons.

Bicknell said he arrived at the practice field one day and found a work crew erecting goal posts 10 feet off center. “The ground wasn’t completely level near the middle, they explained. Besides, they asked, what did it matter?”

Add WLAF: Bicknell asked for a golf cart to transport an offensive lineman with a sprained ankle to the locker room.

“I knew something got lost in the translation when an ambulance came into Montjuic Stadium with lights flashing and sirens wailing,” Bicknell said.

Black cats and ladders: Kyle Petty never thought of himself as superstitious before, but since his Winston Cup victory two weeks ago at Rockingham, N.C., he might be leaning that way.

Throughout race week, the number 42--Petty’s car number--kept popping up. Team owner Felix Sabates bought the crew sweat shirts and the bill came to $242.42. That night, Petty knocked over an ashtray during dinner and it landed upside down. The number 42 was written on the bottom.

Petty bought the ashtray and gave it to Sabates, who took it with him to the track where his car won in 4 hours 2 minutes.

Youth movement: Fred Haas, 75, gave up his alternate spot at the New Orleans Open to “give a younger guy a chance to make some money.” His place was taken by Barry Jaeckel, 42.

Trivia answer: Vincent Edward Jackson. Vinnie knows?

Quotebook: Golfer Jim Colbert, on reaching 50 and joining the senior tour: “It’s been a lifetime ambition of mine to get older. I just wasn’t in such a hurry.”