Out-of-Control Fan Appetite Kills Knicks’ Taste for Giveaway

The New York Knicks, who started the season giving pizzas to fans if the Knicks held the opposition under 85 points, have abandoned the plan. The promotion got out of hand when Denver had 84 points with five seconds to play and rookie Darnell Mee on the free-throw line with two shots coming.

The hungry crowd let go with its loudest uproar of the night, screaming in hopes Mee would miss his free throws. He did, but the incident wasn’t lost on the Nuggets.

Said Denver’s Brian Williams: “For a pizza, man. People always want something for free. And at our expense.”

Then, he added, “I hope it gives them food poisoning.”

Trivia time: What player won the Heisman Trophy and was most valuable player in the Rose Bowl and Super Bowl?

Missed deadline: Is the World Cup soccer extravaganza having trouble keeping up with its schedule? A special edition of Soccer Watch--official publication of the World Cup--that dealt with plans for the final draw for next summer’s tournament was mailed out Monday.

The draw had been held the day before in Las Vegas.

How about Lakers?Blackie Sherrod of the Dallas Morning News tells the latest joke going around his hometown:

“What do Rangers, Mavericks and Cowboys have in common?

“Answer: None can play NBA basketball.”

For the record: Readers Ron Cooper and Dana Rheaume write to protest calling Tom Kite “golf’s all-time money winner” in a recent Morning Briefing. They correctly note that Kite is the PGA leader with more than $8.5 million, but that Germany’s Bernard Langer is the worldwide leader with more than $10 million in purse money.

Money machine: At least one person was unhappy when the Detroit Pistons’ Bill Laimbeer retired.

“We’re sad to see Bill go,” said Rod Thorn, NBA vice president. “He was a great source of revenue.”

Laimbeer paid $26,000 in fines for rough play.

No one like him: Babe Ruth hit 350 home runs with the bases empty, 249 with one on base, 99 with two on and 16 with the bases loaded.

And he won 94 games as a pitcher, including two 20-game seasons. In two World Series, he was 3-0 with a 0.87 earned-run average.

Worthy award: Kay Cockerill, a two-time U.S. Women’s Amateur golf champion from UCLA, received the Founders Cup Award for her “contribution to the betterment of society.” She helped start the LPGA pen pal program, which lines up pros to write monthly to Los Angeles-area inner-city juniors.

Another look: The 76ers’ Shawn Bradley has been getting some bad press about his inexperience, but a close look at his statistics shows the 7-foot-6 rookie center ahead of the highly touted Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning in blocked shots.

Bradley is averaging 3.4 in 27 minutes, Mouring 3.29 in 34 minutes and O’Neal 3.25 in 37.6 minutes.

Trivia answer: Jim Plunkett.

Quotebook: California basketball Coach Todd Bozeman on freshman guard Randy Duck: “If you cut off his arm, he’ll come back a few minutes later with one arm to practice.”