This Welcome Elicits Moment of Toto Recall

Glen Mason, Kansas’ football coach, experienced cultural shock when his team arrived in Honolulu Saturday for a Christmas Day Aloha Bowl game with Brigham Young.

“I was a little intimidated,” Mason said after his team was greeted by spear-toting Polynesian warriors.

Mason quickly recovered, asking the warriors if they wanted to join his coaching staff. “We play rugby,” one replied.

Kansas was never like this.

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Trivia time: What college bowl game was played in the Coliseum?

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Mr. Sunshine: Ron Heller, an offensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles formerly with Tampa Bay, said that he is fortunate he no longer plays for the Buccaneers.

Recalling his experiences with dour Ray Perkins, a former Tampa Bay Coach, Heller told C.W. Nevius of the San Francisco Chronicle:

“One of the first days I saw him I said, ‘How you doing, coach?’ and he said, ‘Why do you want to know?’ ”

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Chick’s world: Chick Hearn, the Lakers’ longtime announcer, is known for his hyperbole whether the Lakers are winning or losing.

During Friday night’s game at the Forum against the Phoenix Suns, the Lakers were losing, 29-12, in the first quarter when Hearn said, “This may be the worst performance I’ve seen the Lakers put on on this floor.”

Aw, come on, Chick, you’ve seen worse.

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Paranoia: Alonzo Mourning, the menacing rookie center for the Charlotte Hornets, explaining his aggressive play to the Baltimore Sun:

“The way I play comes by instinct. Your pride is at stake out there. Every time I step on the floor, I look at it as my house, and I’m protecting it from people trying to take something from me.”

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Buffalo Bowl: Ralphie, the University of Colorado’s buffalo mascot, might be forbidden to romp across the turf during the Jan. 1 Fiesta Bowl game at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.

Tom Sadler, the stadium’s manager, said the safety of bowl officials, photographers and others might be jeopardized if the 1,200-pound buffalo is allowed to roam before the kickoff.

“If she decided to take a real quick left, it would probably look like the running of the bulls,” said Sadler, citing the stadium’s confined sidelines and end zones.

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Dial-a-Shaq: Alex Martins, the Orlando Magic’s media relations director, said that he recently received 73 messages on his voice mail and 39 telephone calls to his secretary, most of them concerning rookie center Shaquille O’Neal. “It’s just an average day,” Martins said. “I’m not trying to put him on the same plateau, but it’s Jordanesque.”

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Chain reaction: Michael Eisner, Disney’s chief executive, said his company bought an NHL team partly because its movie about a kids’ hockey team, “The Mighty Ducks,” was a big success.

“Think what we’d be in for if Disney had made ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,’ ” writes Tony Kornheiser of the Washington Post. “Eisner would have bought Black & Decker.”

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Trivia answer: USC defeated Missouri, 20-7, in the Christmas Festival game on Dec. 25, 1924.

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Quotebook: Steve Horn, of The Times’ sports staff, commenting on the recent Las Vegas Bowl game: “An artificial game on artificial turf in an artificial city.”