The Amenities Were Perfect Until He Threw in the Towel

NBA superscout Marty Blake had only one complaint about his recent visit to Chicago for the league’s annual predraft camp.

According to Tim Povtak of the Orlando Sentinel, Blake was unable to check out of his hotel as planned because of a towel snafu.

“The hospitality was wonderful,” Blake said. “But the towels at the hotel were so fluffy, I couldn’t close my suitcase.”

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Trivia time: What is the only Olympic event that allowed the killing of animals?

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Call him Knute: Captain Guy Carbonneau of the Montreal Canadiens still can’t believe that teammate Patrick Roy made good on his between-periods promise not to allow another goal in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals against the Kings.

At the time, the score was 2-2 after two periods.

“I’ve read about Babe Ruth pointing to the stands and calling his shot, and I’ve heard about Knute Rockne asking his Notre Dame players to win one for the Gipper, but this was the most dramatic job of leadership I’ve ever seen,” Carbonneau told Larry Wigge of the Sporting News. “This series may long be remembered for us winning Game 2 because of the stick measurement, it may be remembered as the series in which we won three consecutive overtime decisions, but I will never forget how Patrick Roy took charge in that locker room and challenged us to win.”

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Air Kruk: Even though the Philadelphia Phillies’ John Kruk batted .429 during his first visit to Denver’s Mile High Stadium, the somewhat portly veteran is no fan of the place.

“I can’t breathe that (air),” he said of the altitude. “Why would I want to play here if I can’t breathe? If I can’t breathe, I’ll die. The beer doesn’t even taste good here, and if it did, I wouldn’t have the energy to drink it.”

Get the feeling that the folks at Coors, down the road from Denver, aren’t going to be too happy with Kruk’s comments?

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American ham-stand: Wasn’t it bad enough that Tom Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints, used to do his little umbrella dance after each victory at the Superdome?

Now comes news that Florida Marlin owner Wayne Huizenga has ventured onto the Joe Robbie Stadium field and done the hokey pokey with team mascot Billy the Marlin.

The reviews of his performance? “Overall, as Dick Clark would say, I’d give it an 86,” first baseman Orestes Destrade told Gordon Edes of the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. “Very danceable.”

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Twist of fate: As if the San Diego Padres needed more bad news. . . .

Did you happen to see who struck out a record 16 batters and didn’t allow a baserunner to reach third in the College World Series championship game? None other than Louisiana State freshman Brett Laxton.

Laxton had to choose between the Padres, who selected him in the fourth round out of high school, or LSU. Laxton picked LSU.

Good choice. The way the Padres are dumping players, LSU might soon be a better team.

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Trivia answer: Pigeon shooting. The event began and ended with the 1900 Summer Games.

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Quotebook: John Wockenfuss, who manages the Carolina Mudcats, on last week’s decision to ban tobacco products in the minor leagues: “If I stop chewing, OK. Now I’m going to eat a ton of sunflower seeds and gain 50 pounds and die of a heart attack.”