He’s Cited for Unsafe Driving in Icy Conditions by Officials

The driver of the ice-grooming machine at Seattle Center has been sent off for giving high-fives to fans while circling the ice and told to shape up or risk a permanent deep freeze.

John Scannell, the Zamboni driver at Seattle Thunderbird hockey games, was suspended for three days and ordered off the machine for two weeks by officials who say he has ignored their orders to stop high-fiving the fans.

Seattle Center officials say the practice is dangerous, and city officials say the city could be held liable if someone was injured.

Trivia time: Who holds the world record for the marathon?

Come again? Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays was once hired to play himself in a television show. When he arrived for the filming, the director asked him how he planned to handle the role.

“I don’t know,” Mays said. “Just turn those cameras on, and if it ain’t me, let me know.”

Founding fathers: Phil Jackman of the Baltimore Sun writes that New York Giant General Manager George Young usually has a straightforward way of expressing his feelings.

“For instance, regarding the new NFL free-agency rules, he says: ‘I know they worked awful hard to put this together. In fact, it was easier to frame the American Constitution than it was to frame this.’ ”

Sticking point: Jim Valvano, former North Carolina State basketball coach, recalled that he had difficulty getting his team mentally prepared to play Pepperdine in a first-round NCAA tournament game in 1983 at Corvallis, Ore.

“They think Pepperdine is a brand of chewing gum,” Valvano said.

The Wolfpack beat the Waves, 69-67, in double-overtime and went on to win the NCAA championship.

Bird call: During a retirement party for Larry Bird at Boston Garden, former Celtic coach K.C. Jones told of diagraming a play on the sidelines, only to have Bird dismiss it, saying:

“Get the ball to me and get everyone out of my way.”

Jones responded: “I’m the coach, and I will call the plays.” Then, Jones turned to the other players and said: “Get the ball to Larry, and get out of his way.”

Filibuster: While speaking before the New York Friars Club, boxing promoter Don King went far beyond his allotted time. When King finally sat down, comedian Alan King quipped:

“Thank you, Don, you were on the floor longer than Fred Astaire in three of his movies.”

Trivia answer: Belaine Densimo of Ethiopia, 2 hours 6 minutes 50 seconds, set in 1988.

Quotebook: California basketball Coach Todd Bozeman, who replaced Lou Campanelli: “I don’t know the formula for success, but I know the formula for failure--trying to please everybody.”