He Is No Mere Whistle-Stop on NBA Track

The zebra lost his stripes, but Earl Strom, a professional basketball referee for 32 years before retiring after last season, didn’t lose his perspective on the the game. He simply gained a new one, as a Prime Ticket announcer during the 1990-91 season.

“I loved it,” he said the other day of his work on Clipper telecasts. “I really enjoyed it. I felt for the first time in 33 years of pro basketball that I was able to comment on the players’ ability without fear of being fined.”

From the new vantage point, he discovered Jeff Hornacek of the Phoenix Suns: “He really jumped out at me, the way he was able to play both guard positions and the way he was able to lead the team in a quiet sort of way when Kevin Johnson was out of a game with fouls or injuries. He just took charge. He’s labled as a shooting guard, but he is a tremendous passer.”

He discovered some coaches: “The guy who probably jumped out at me most was (the Portland Trail Blazers’) Rick Adelman. I shouldn’t have been surprised, based on what he did last year. But although they didn’t have any of what you would call name superstars besides Clyde Drexler, he took guys with different personalities and egos and kept the ship afloat while keeping everyone happy, and finished with the best record. That’s tremendous.”

On Magic Johnson of the Lakers: “I can see from sitting there (courtside) how he upgrades the ability of players around him. I found out that each team needs a player like him.”

Trivia time: Which three NBA franchises have won championships in two cities?

Cloud cover: Because of concern over the possible effects of a cloud created by a fire at a nearby chemical plant, the second day of the recent Mickey Mantle Celebrity Invitational golf tournament in Georgia was canceled. Celebrities such as Whitey Ford and Yogi Berra were driven to the Atlanta airport, presuming golf was out of the question.

A few hours later, when the cloud dispersed without causing a health hazard, some were back on the course. Among those were former Baltimore Colt Tom Matte, ready with clubs and an explanation for the minor panic that had chased some away.

“It was,” he said, “one of those Grenoble things.”

Whatever became of . . . : Tony Rice, the former Notre Dame quarterback, is expected to start today for Barcelona when the Dragons play at Sacramento in a World League of American Football game. His last start came in the 1990 Orange Bowl against Colorado.

Buzzzzzzzz: In basketball-crazy North Carolina, four anonymous bidders reportedly paid $97,500 for the rights to buy 10 season tickets to Charlotte Hornet games. The fee did not include the price of the tickets, which formerly belonged to a bankrupt real estate developer and were auctioned off at a restaurant. One bidder spent $61,000 for the right to a pair of tickets two rows back at center court.

Said bankruptcy court trustee A. Burton Shuford: “Some of them are so close, you can get spit on by Charles Barkley.”

Timing pattern: Tight end Keith Jackson of the Philadelphia Eagles said he is determined to be less controversial and has been refusing interviews.

This comes, of course, after he called owner Norman Braman “a moron.”

Trivia answer: Minneapolis Lakers and Los Angeles Lakers; Syracuse Nationals and Philadelphia 76ers; Philadelphia Warriors and Golden State Warriors.

Quotebook: David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs, after being the subject of a feature article in the April issue of Playboy: “When my mom comes over and cleans up and sees it sitting around, I can say, ‘But, Mom, I’m in that one.’ ”