He’s an Officer, but He’s Not a Gentleman

Italian skier Alberto Tomba is also a member of Italy’s police corps, but his career with the carabinieri may be going downhill fast.

Tomba got into trouble during the Christmas holidays after he put a flashing light atop his private car and slalomed past a long traffic jam near a resort in Italy.

Unfortunately for Tomba, one of the motorists he zoomed past was Pierandrea Zanocco, who is a full-time policeman. Zanocco said he will file a report after the holidays citing Tomba for various infractions.

Tomba claimed he used the light, as well as a signal stick, to help clear the traffic jam.

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Add Tomba: Last year, Tomba posted $300 bond after police stopped him in the Florida Keys as he drove to the airport in Miami. Police who stopped him after he used the left-turn lane to pass a line of cars said Tomba showed a picture of himself in an Italian police uniform.

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Trivia time: Who holds the Charlotte Hornets’ record for most rebounds in one half?

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Kings’ joker: When he announced he was resigning as general manager of the Sacramento Kings, Jerry Reynolds filled his news conference with self-deprecating jokes.

“With the retirement of Michael Jordan, I figured two greats had to get out in the same season,” said Reynolds, who was then asked about his future plans.

Said Reynolds: “Perhaps politics, considering the job they’re doing and the job I’ve done.”

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Et tu, BYU? Jason Ball, a reserve offensive tackle from Richland, Wash., played the role of Brutus in Brigham Young’s production of “Julius Caesar” while also participating in last spring’s football practices. In 1988, Ball, then a redshirt, was a member of the Cougars’ ballroom dance team.

Is a new sack dance in the future?

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Big fan: At least, Rob Deer is striking out in a new direction. Deer, who has signed with the Hanshin Tigers in Japan, leaves the major leagues with such dubious statistics as 535 more strikeouts than hits, eight strikeout titles since 1981 and 49 more strikeouts than Babe Ruth--despite nearly 4,500 fewer at-bats.

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Top stories: Michael Jordan’s retirement was voted the top story of 1993 in Associated Press balloting of sports editors and broadcasters. The No. 2 story was the stabbing of Monica Seles, followed by the Blue Jays winning the World Series.

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Hooping cough: The worst basketball conference? It’s probably the East Coast Conference, with six teams and not one with a winning record. Maybe the victories are going to start showing up in January.

Why? That’s when the conference schedule begins.

The ECC has teams from the Midwest, such as Northeastern Illinois, and the Northeast, such as Buffalo and Hofstra, but also Troy State in rural Alabama.

“We sure don’t have any natural rivals,” Troy State Coach Don Maestri said.

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Trivia answer: Kurt Rambis, who had 14 on three occasions.

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Quotebook: Quarterback Steve Young of the San Francisco 49ers, after Saturday’s 10-7 loss to the Houston Oilers: “I didn’t think there were too many problems other than two interceptions in the red zone and one blocked field goal.”