In Business of Sports, He’s a Power Forward

David Stern, commissioner of the National Basketball Assn., has been named “the most powerful person in sports” by The Sporting News.

Stern tops the newspaper’s annual “100 most powerful people in sports” rankings, which are dominated at the top by businessmen and TV executives.

Ranked second is International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch. He’s followed in the top 10 by, in order, Dick Ebersol, president of NBC Sports; baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent; NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue; ESPN President Steve Bornstein; Anheuser-Busch executive Mike Roarty; NCAA Executive Director Dick Schultz; CBS Chairman Laurence Tisch, and ABC Sports President Dennis Swanson.

Of Stern’s No. 1 ranking, Sporting News editor John D. Rawlings said: “He’s cultivated an exciting, attractive product (the NBA) that fans, marketers and broadcasters around the world are embracing with growing enthusiasm every year.”

Stern refused comment on the poll Friday.

Only three athletes are ranked: Magic Johnson (31st), Michael Jordan (50th) and Jack Nicklaus (82nd). Tisch was ranked No. 1 last year. His slide is attributed to the expectation that CBS could lose $600 million on its sports contracts.

Others ranked: Boxing promoter Don King (13th); King owner Bruce McNall (18th); U.S. Olympic Committee member Anita DeFrantz (53rd); Beverly Hills agent Dennis Gilbert (65th); Dodger President Peter O’Malley (83rd), and Laker owner Jerry Buss (100th).

Dept. of Fearless Decisions: Ever wonder what sort of person votes in college football polls?

Listen to Jack Moss of the Kalamazoo (Mich.) Gazette, explaining why he split his vote for No. 1:

“I decided if both of them (Washington and Michigan) won and both ended 12-0, they deserved to share No. 1,” Moss said. “It would be unfair to either of them to pick the other No. 1. If Washington had won, 24-23, and Miami won, 60-0, I still would have split my vote.”

Trivia time: What famous quip is attributed to former Laker Hot Rod Hundley on Nov. 15, 1960, when teammate Elgin Baylor scored 71 points against the Knicks at New York?

Back in the doghouse: Washington Bullet guard Ledell Eackles was already in Coach Wes Unseld’s doghouse before he picked up a Roman candle on New Year’s Eve and lit the fuse.

The candle ignited quickly, giving Eackles’ hand a severe gunpowder burn.

Eackles’ explanation: “It was just one of those things.”

Unseld’s explanation: “It was illegal, ill-advised and just plain stupid.”

Eackles, a four-year veteran who reported to training camp overweight, has seen his scoring average drop by half this season.

Out of the doghouse: Those sideline arguments between Bear Coach Mike Ditka and defensive end Richard Dent that TV directors love so much may be no more.

The two had a peace meeting with team president Mike McCaskey this week to discuss Dent’s future with Chicago. Ditka has said he might quit if the club doesn’t unload Dent, the 1986 Super Bowl MVP.

No one kissed anyone after the meeting, but there was no acrimony, either.

“Things seem like they’re going to work out very well,” Dent said.

Said McCaskey: “Both men had a chance to say things to each other, clear the air and get things on a positive footing. I left feeling . . . we’re all on the same page.”

Trivia answer: “That was the night Elg and I combined for 72 points in the Garden.”

Quotebook: Columnist Dave Barry, comparing Miami and Buffalo: “Buffalo, a city whose major contribution to western civilization is chicken wings. . . . Buffalo, where the crime rate is indeed lower than Miami’s because the getaway cars won’t start.”