If You Tell Him It Was an Upset, He Just Might Put His Dukes Up

Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post refuses to accept the claim that Duke’s victory over Nevada Las Vegas was the biggest upset in NCAA tournament history.

“Not even close,” Wilbon wrote. “Let’s not insult Duke. It was no fluke--like Villanova’s 90% shooting or N.C. State’s maddening stall-ball game in the days before the three-pointer and shot clock.

“Duke’s here every year. Let’s make a bet. I’ll bet that Christian Laettner and Grant Hill will, by the end of their NBA careers, have played on as many all-star teams as Larry Johnson and Stacey Augmon, whose marvelous regular-season performance dissolved into a nothing postseason.”

Trivia Time: Besides sharing the distinction of being the biggest disappointments in the NCAA tournament, what else did UCLA and Syracuse have in common this season?

A frightening thought: Said defenseman Paul Cavallini of the St. Louis Blues, when asked last season what the Blues would be like without Brett Hull, their all-star right winger who scored an NHL-high 86 goals this season: “We’d almost be like the Quebec Nordiques.”

Hull’s teammates scored 224 goals this season.

Quebec, the NHL’s worst team, scored 236.

Five years ago: On April 2, 1986, the three-point field goal, at 19 feet 9 inches, was adopted by the NCAA.

Old-timers’ game: From Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun: “In a Texas Ranger intrasquad game a couple of weeks ago, Nolan Ryan was pitching with an infield made up of Manager Bobby Valentine at third base, first-base coach Toby Harrah at shortstop, dugout coach Davey Lopes at second and third-base coach Dave Oliver at first. Only Lopes is older than Ryan, 44.”

Now-it-can-be-told Dept.: From Joe Gergen of Newsday: “Duke Snider, who was sensitive to criticism when he patroled center field for the Dodgers, recently recalled a night at Ebbets Field on which ‘three guys in the upper deck were really getting on me. They were questioning my ancestors, the works. Charlie the Brow was our batboy and he ran with a tough gang. I went to him and said, ‘Brow, your guys here tonight?’ He said they were.

“ ‘I said, ‘See those three guys up there, sitting by themselves? I’d like to have your boys quiet them down.’ Three innings later, they weren’t even there. I felt a little guilty about that. I didn’t ask what happened.’ ”

Football widows: A study by Nielsen Media Research revealed that “Monday Night Football” is the No. 1 network series viewed outside the home. According to the study, almost 1.3 million men, 18 and older, watch the Monday night game away from home.

A nation’s saloon-keepers salute them.

Trivia Answer: Each opened the season by winning a tournament outside the contiguous United States. Syracuse won the Maui Invitational, UCLA the Great Alaska Shootout.

Quotebook: Mans Ivarsson of Expressen, Sweden’s largest newspaper, on Mats Wilander’s rock-concert tour with his six-member band: “All people have the right to enjoy a hobby. But there is a limit--like charging $15 for a show like this.”