Can Hedges Fight Off Band of Huskies?

Blaine Newnham of the Seattle Times is concerned about the possibility of the University of Washington athletic department yielding its jurisdiction over the marching band to the music department.

While commenting on this vital issue, Newnham went out of his way to take a swipe at the USC band and new Washington Athletic Director Barbara Hedges’ Trojan background.

“The most bothersome thing about Barbara Hedges’ appointment as athletic director at the University of Washington is not her sex, but her heritage,” Newnham writes. “She spent nearly 20 years at USC, where the marching band knows four, maybe five notes.

“Geez, I hope she didn’t point two fingers in the air when the Trojan band played ‘Conquest’. And we all know how many times the band plays ‘Conquest’. But I bet she did.

“She should fight to keep control of the Husky band because she knows how bad a university-run band can be. At least, I hope she does.”

Truly, these are the pressing issues of our time.

Trivia time: What is this? “Graham Cowdrey and Mark Benson both celebrated centuries for Kent against championship leaders Warwickshire at Tunbridge Wells, though their stand of 169 was marred when Benson was run out.”

Basketball as second language: The public instruction of Vlade Divac continues apace. Seemingly everyone is openly discussing the Laker center’s play, which is characterized by spells of brilliance followed by episodes of catatonia. Not since Evonne Goolagong went on her “walkabouts” during tennis matches has there been such a celebrated lack of concentration by an athlete.

Divac, whose good-naturedness works against him, is frequently dismissed with the scalding putdown, “He plays like a European.” A remarkable observation. He is, after all, from Yugoslavia.

Divac’s designated on-court teacher has been Magic Johnson, who has worked out something of a good-cop, bad-cop scenario with Laker Coach Mike Dunleavy.

“There’s me on the soft side and Magic on the hard side,” Dunleavy said. “Sometimes Magic might get upset with him. I try to be a calming influence.”

Add Divac: Far from being embarrassed by this, Divac has acknowledged his shortcomings.

“I came here because it was my dream to play with the Lakers and Magic,” Divac said. “Yes, Magic screams at me, but it is for my own good. I improved my game 50% this season. I play hard because I love Los Angeles and want to stay. There is no better place to play basketball.”

Man, o’ man: On this day in 1919, Man o’ War won his first race, a five-furlong dash down a straightaway at Belmont Park. He went off at 3-5 and won by six lengths. The horse ran 20 subsequent races, including victories in the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes in 1920.

Trivia answer: The lead paragraph in a newspaper account of a cricket match.

Quotebook: Flintie Ray Williams, a former forward at UNLV who is now a pit boss in Las Vegas, on the transition from the basketball court to gaming tables: “It’s not a hard profession to break into. All you have to do is count to 21.”