Insurance Company Tries to Call a Technical on $1-Million Shot

Don Calhoun, who sank a 76-foot shot in a basketball contest last week, will get his $1-million prize, even though he technically should have been disqualified, the sponsors say.

The insurance company required to make the payoff, American Hole ‘n One of Oakwood, Ga., reportedly balked after Calhoun admitted to having played college basketball, a violation of the rules.

Calhoun, 23, sank the shot Wednesday at Chicago Stadium between the third and fourth quarters of the Chicago Bull-Miami Heat game.

The sponsors of the event--the Bulls, a soft-drink company and a restaurant chain--said they would cover the prize if the insurance company refuses to pay.

“In retrospect, he probably should have said something to the Bulls, but the shot was made, period,” said Rich Melman, owner of the restaurant chain.

He said they would pay Calhoun $50,000 a year over the next 20 years.

Gee, that’s rough: Said Bulls forward Horace Grant of Calhoun: “It took me three years to make a million, and it took him five seconds.”

Figure this: From Blackie Sherrod of the Dallas Morning News: “The lithe, graceful Michael Jordan, according to Golf magazine, is a 5-handicapper in golf, a game he dearly loves, while the ungainly, lumbering Bill Laimbeer plays to a 1.”

Trivia time: Who holds the Laker record for most points scored in a game?

Paper crisis: Montreal Canadien Coach Jacques Demers has banned three Montreal-area newspapers--not reporters, the actual newspapers--from the club’s locker room during the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Demers said reporters can still have access to players to do their interviews, but the players can no longer read newspapers in the locker room.

“The reaction of certain players forced me to make the decision,” Demers said. “One day, I was in the trainer’s room and the players were throwing the papers all over the place. Their personality was changing.”

There, there.

Sounds fair: Running back Emmitt Smith of the Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys is featured on “The Phil Donahue Show” in a segment entitled “Single Millionaire Studs Looking for Love.” Smith appeared with six other bachelor millionaires.

“When I get married, I’m going to let my wife do whatever she wants to do,” Smith says on the show. “As long as she comes home to me.”

Sacrifice: From Charles Barkley of the Phoenix Suns, who has been inactive because of a bruised shoulder: “Man, the worst thing about this is I won’t be able to play golf.”

Sideline performer: Kevin McHale’s playing time with the Boston Celtics has diminished because of age--he’s 35--and injuries, and he’s not happy about it.

“To come out and play just eight minutes, that’s almost a waste of time,” McHale said. “Maybe if we had a trampoline behind the bench, I could at least jump up and down. Maybe we can get a Stairmaster.”

Cool homecoming: When Barry Bonds returned to Pittsburgh with the San Francico Giants, many of his former teammates were less than excited.

Said outfielder Andy Van Slyke: “It was like Bush coming back to the Clinton inauguration.”

Trivia answer: Elgin Baylor, with 71 points against the Knicks on Nov. 15, 1960, in New York.

Quotebook: ESPN’s Keith Olbermann after Cincinnati’s Stephen Foster gave up a home run to Philadelphia’s Lenny Dykstra: “What do you expect from a 200-year-old songwriter?”