Hey, so Call Us the Steal City: Pittsburgh Writers Have Floor

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Bob Smizik had his own spin on the recently proposed, then canceled, basketball boycott organized by the Black Coaches Assn.

The organization was protesting the NCAA’s refusal to boost the scholarship limit from 13 to 14.

Smizik suggested two proposals, the first of which, he says, was originally advanced by Ed Fowler of the Houston Chronicle:

--”Division I basketball coaches could contribute a percentage of their salaries to a scholarship fund, with some even throwing in their shoe contracts.

--”Let’s ban the awarding of scholarships to foreign athletes. Isn’t that practice a form of denied opportunity to inner-city youths?”

Add Pittsburgh: Gene Collier, another Post-Gazette columnist, on the Michael Jordan baseball story:

“If Jordan were the fastest outfielder on the team, if he had great hands and a great arm, and if he had the sweetest swing since Ted Williams, his chances of playing for the White Sox would still approximate those of him becoming Miss America.

“There’s the little matter of putting the bat on the ball.

“Big league pitching got Ty Cobb out 63% of the time. Last year, American League pitching got Jose Canseco out 75% of the time.

“How do you think big league pitching will handle a guy who’s been working out in a batting cage for a couple of months?”

Trivia time: How many courses have played host to the Los Angeles Open?

Hot ice: Figure skating is very hot--much hotter than basketball, for example.

Exhibition performances by Nancy Kerrigan, Scott Hamilton and others on CBS Saturday drew a 13.4 rating, according to A.C. Nielsen Co. figures. At the same time, the second hour of an ABC figure skating show with Brian Boitano, Peggy Fleming, Katarina Witt, Kristi Yamaguchi and Hamilton had a 10.5.

Channel 5’s coverage of the Feb. 3 UCLA-USC game had a 3.3 rating, making it the least-watched of the area’s seven VHF stations when it was on from 8 to 9:45 p.m.

Notre Dame’s upset of UCLA Saturday on Channel 4 had a 3.5.

Famous last words: UCLA Coach Jim Harrick said part of the reason for the Bruins’ 79-63 upset loss at Notre Dame was too many games in too little time. UCLA beat USC Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion, traveled all day Friday, then played the Irish Saturday afternoon at South Bend, Ind.

Harrick noted that Notre Dame would have the same problem, since the Irish were to play at Georgia Sunday.

“Just see what happens to them,” Harrick said.

Notre Dame beat Georgia, 88-85.

Trivia answer: Ten. Los Angeles Country Club, El Caballero, Wilshire, Riviera, Hillcrest, Griffith Park, Fox Hills, Inglewood, Rancho Park and Brookside.

Quotebook: New baseball Hall of Fame member Steve Carlton, asked what he would want a father to tell his son about him: “I wish he’d have a more interesting conversation.”