He’ll Leave ‘Em Breathless After Smoke Clears

Tim Hardaway of the Golden State Warriors was booed in Portland recently after an altercation with Clyde Drexler of the Trailblazers.

“It doesn’t bother me,” Hardaway told the San Francisco Examiner. “They can use their breath for something else. I know most of (the fans) are cigarette smokers, so they need their breath.

“Down the line, they’re going to be like, ‘Damn, I was booing Tim Hardaway 50 years ago. I could have used that breath for something else.’ ”

Trivia time: Who was the most valuable player of the 1977 Rose Bowl game?

Clip this: Bubba Paris, former 300-pound tackle for the San Francisco 49ers, is in the restaurant business in the Bay Area.

“I just negotiated a deal to come out with my own line of yogurt,” Paris said. “Yo Bubba’s Yogurt. It is so good, if you can find a better yogurt, I’ll give you your money back.”

Joe’s groupies: San Francisco Examiner columnist Art Spander on Bay Area fans’ idolatry of 49er quarterback Joe Montana:

“Most of the people who cheer for the 49ers know as much about football as Madonna knows about the San Andreas Fault. They believe the roster consists of one man, Montana.”

Vince who?Washington Redskin Coach Joe Gibbs, commenting on quarterback Vince Evans, who led the Raiders to a 21-20 upset of the Redskins on Saturday: “We hadn’t spent a lot of time getting ready for him.”

That could be the understatement of the year.

Idle thought: Peter Vecsey of USA Today wonders, “If Dennis Rodman remarries, does that mean his new wife gets him on the rebound.”

Pulling strings: Philadelphia Eagle linebacker Seth Joyner was recently quoted by the New York Times as saying, “(Former coach) Buddy Ryan cared about winning and (owner) Norman Braman cared about money. Buddy did not get a chance to complete the job. Braman wanted a puppet and that’s what he got in (current Coach Rich Kotite).”

Forty-yard fallacy: Don Criqui, while announcing Saturday’s Raider-Redskin game, said: “Desmond Howard has run down near 4.2 (seconds).” Criqui was referring to Howard’s 40-yard dash time. A 4.2? Get real, Don.

For the record: The Christmas Festival game at the Coliseum in 1924 isn’t the only college bowl game to have been played at the stadium. On Nov. 23, 1961, Fresno State beat Bowling Green in the Mercy Bowl, 36-6. That was a benefit game for the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo football team that was in an airplane crash the previous year.

USC Coach Larry Smith played for Bowling Green in the Mercy Bowl. He also lost to Fresno State twice while he was Arizona’s coach. So Smith is 0-3 against Fresno going into tonight’s Freedom Bowl game at Anaheim Stadium.

FYI: Larry Bird Night is planned Feb. 4 at the Boston Garden, where Bird’s No. 33 jersey will be retired in a special ceremony.

Trivia Answer: USC quarterback Vince Evans.

Quotebook: General Manager Pat Williams of the Orlando Magic on hearing that Gary Bettman, NBA senior vice president, was moving to the NHL as commissioner: “When I first heard about it, I sent the guy a puck. And I heard he spent all day at his desk trying to figure out how to open it up.”