After Holyfield’s Snoozer, Bring Back Buster Douglas

Has there ever been a heavyweight fight that stirred up more negative reaction than the Evander Holyfield-Larry Holmes bout? A sampling:

Bernie Lincicome of the Chicago Tribune: “This one was unforgivable--that it ever happened, that it went the distance, that Holyfield remains undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

“Buster Douglas, come back. All is forgiven.”

Michael Katz of the New York Daily News, describing Holmes’ performance: “In what may be construed as an editorial comment, he threw up in the Caesars Palace ring. An old pro, he waited until the final bell.”

Headline in the Denver Post: “Holyfield Out-Uglies Holmes.”

Trivia time: Only three schools have produced the first pick in the NBA draft more than once. Identify those schools.

Message from the front: Security for the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team’s practices at UC San Diego is so tight that not even the school’s basketball coach, Tom Marshall, is allowed to watch. However, UC San Diego student Mark Lennon did sneak in a back door and see about five minutes of a scrimmage before getting run out, according to Steve Richardson of the Dallas Morning News.

For what it’s worth, Lennon emerged with good news for Duke fans. “Christian Laettner was not getting eaten alive,” he reported. “He even made a shot.”

Keeper of the flame: For those wondering if there is any sort of a betting line for the U.S. men’s basketball team, the answer is: Not yet. And don’t expect one, either, according to one prominent Las Vegas sports book manager, Sonny Reizner.

“I hope nobody will write a line, and I will not write a line,” Reizner told the Detroit News. “I hope other books stay away from it.”

Reizner’s reasoning: Olympic ideals would be tarnished if sports books take bets involving the U.S. basketball team.

“Some people might think the Olympics and gambling would go hand in hand,” he said. “I don’t feel that way.”

From the gourmet file: Phil Jackman of the Baltimore Sun reports that Andre Agassi, seeking out late meals while competing in a tennis tournament in Belgium recently, talked the owner of a local restaurant into staying open past regular business hours. The place was a McDonald’s.

Trivia answer: North Carolina (James Worthy in 1982 and Brad Daugherty in 1986), Houston (Elvin Hayes in 1968 and Akeem Olajuwon in 1984) and UCLA (Lew Alcindor in 1969 and Bill Walton in 1974).

Quotebook: Former Stanford basketball star Adam Keefe, on the intelligence of Stanford players: “On how many team buses do you find the players having a discussion on the implication of a negative income tax?”