Here Are Some Highlights of NHL Lowlights

As the NHL’s regular season reached its midway point at the end of December, Boston Globe hockey reporter Kevin Paul Dupont evaluated each team.

Some samples:

--The Kings: “Their most memorable moment thus far? Head Coach Tom Webster attempted to harpoon referee Kerry Fraser (is that why he wears a helmet now?). That says about all you need to know about the Kings this year.”

--The Chicago Blackhawks: “Remember how they shot themselves in the foot in the playoffs (first-round KO, Minnesota)? Well, they’re still limping.

--The St. Louis Blues: “Brett Hull is on his way to another 80-goal season, but 800 goals might not be enough to compensate for a lackluster, less-than-intimidating defense.”

Trivia time: Moses Malone recently scored his 26,000th point in the NBA. Name the other five who have done it.

Jot this down: Basketball Weekly’s prediction for Saturday’s Pacific 10 Conference showdown: Arizona 79, UCLA 78.

Man vs. team: Kicker Chip Lohmiller of the Washington Redskins outscored the Indianapolis Colts, 149-143, during the regular season.

Bowl-headed: Michael A. Tranghese, commissioner of the Big East Conference, told the Chicago Tribune: “The whole (football bowl) system is ridiculous, it’s a farce, it’s absurd. Bowls lie to bowls, conferences lie to conferences and schools lie to schools.”

Add bowl-headed: Georgia Tech Athletic Director Homer Rice told the Atlanta Journal: “Why does there have to be a single, unambiguous champion? I just don’t see the emotional need for that.”

Last add bowl-headed: Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post: “College football is the only sport that doesn’t give us what we want: a true champion. The bowl people promise they’ll do better next year; they’ve promised they’ll work it so that the best teams will play each other.

“Do what you want, but I’ll believe that when the teams are on the field.”

A trendy hire: Mike Brown of the Cincinnati Bengals hired David Shula to his first head coaching position. Forty years earlier, Paul Brown, Mike’s father, plucked Don Shula, David’s father, out of John Carroll University to play for the Cleveland Browns.

Greener grass: Attention, greenskeepers. St. Andrews is looking for a greens superintendent. Inquiries should be sent to Ronnie Cleland, Selection Thomson Ltd., 14 Sandyford Place, Glasgow, Scotland G3 7NB.

When it counts: Inside Sports magazine rated active NFL quarterbacks for handling pressure games. Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers was first, Steve DeBerg of the Kansas City Chiefs second and Dave Krieg of the Seattle Seahawks third. The Rams’ Jim Everett was12th, the Raiders’ Jay Schroeder 18th.

Trivia answer: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Elvin Hayes, Oscar Robertson and John Havlicek.

Quotebook: Sonny Reizner, a Las Vegas oddsmaker, explaining the mysteries of the point spread to Newsday’s Manny Topol: “It is not issued from a mountaintop.”