Analyst Needs to Come With an Interpreter

Credit CBS college basketball analyst Billy Packer with an assist for helping Al McGuire, formerly of NBC, land a spot with CBS for this year’s NCAA tournament coverage.

According to Newsday’s Stan Isaacs, Packer told Ted Shaker, executive producer of CBS Sports, that McGuire was available and also provided a crucial piece of advice for negotiating with the former Marquette coach: “He will be difficult to understand and don’t send lawyers to talk to him.”

Add Al: When McGuire began his broadcasting career at NBC, he felt awkward as an interviewer and sought advice from executive producer Don Ohlmeyer. According to Isaacs, Ohlmeyer responded: “Don’t change. You are so bad, you are good.”

Trivia time: Seventeen teams have entered the NCAA basketball tournament with perfect records, but only two have done so since 1976, when an undefeated Indiana team won the championship. Name those two teams and how they fared.

Scene from a mall: Before the Winter Olympics, Kristi Yamaguchi agreed to perform after the Games at the ice skating facility at the Dallas Galleria, and, even with her newfound fame as gold medalist in women’s figure skating, she lived up to the commitment last week.

While conceding that “this will be one of my few mall appearances,” she did get a key to the city from Dallas city councilman Paul Fielding. Presenting the key, Fielding said he had recently met Vice President Dan Quayle, but found Yamaguchi to be “much more exciting.”

Add Kristi: There was no hesitation from Yamaguchi when reporters at the mall asked her to pinpoint the highlight of her life since winning the gold.

“I got to appear on the ‘Arsenio Hall Show,’ ” she said.

A cold man: From Bob Verdi of the Chicago Tribune: “Having been returned to regularly scheduled programs after the Winter Olympics, we should give thanks as a sovereign nation that it was only a snowball fight and not a war. Alas, rarely have so many American men gone overseas and accomplished so little.”

A lot of wristbands: Mike Monroe of the Denver Post reports that singer Neil Diamond and his entourage recently spent $13,000 on Chicago Bull souvenirs while taking in a game at Chicago Stadium.

Huh?Blackie Sherrod of the Dallas Morning News has trouble understanding what Gary Player meant by saying recently: “If Jack Nicklaus played week in and week out on all different courses, we’d beat him a lot.”

Wrote Sherrod: “That’s almost like saying, ‘Hey, Joe Louis was a great boxer, but if he had to fight his 20 top challengers all at the same time in the same ring, by golly, he might lose half the time.’ ”

Trivia answer: Indiana State in 1979 and Nevada Las Vegas in 1991. Each reached the Final Four, but failed to capture the title. Indiana State (with Larry Bird) lost to Michigan State (with Magic Johnson) in the championship game. UNLV lost to Duke in the semifinals.

Quotebook: University of Akron football Coach Gerry Faust, on his years as coach at Notre Dame: “I set a lot of records at Notre Dame. Unfortunately, they were all the wrong kind.”