Brown a Basket Case? Not So, Says Former Laker Byron Scott

Byron Scott, the former Laker veteran, has a different perception of Larry Brown now that he’s playing for the Indiana Pacers.

“I heard it all about this guy before I got here,” Brown told Jackie MacMullan of the Boston Globe. “They said he was a lunatic, insecure, a basket case . . . but you know what?

“It’s all totally wrong. He’s a terrific coach, one of the best I’ve ever had. He is a great motivator who wants you to have input on what happens.

“How can you have trouble playing for a guy who is willing to put it all on the line for you?”

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Trivia time: Who holds the record for most minutes played in an NBA playoff game?

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Cheap crisis: Mario Andretti’s last Indianapolis 500 race ended Sunday after only 23 laps. His expensive car was forced out of the race because of a faulty fuel relief valve that cost about $40.

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Doc Ali: Muhammad Ali won another title Saturday, an honorary law doctorate from Mount Ida College in Newton, Mass.

“I’ve been called the king. I’ve been called the greatest. I’ve been called champ,” Ali said in receiving his first college degree. “And now I can be called the doc.”

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Survivor: Reliever Lee Smith, 37, had to wait until two weeks before training camp started to be signed by the Baltimore Orioles.

“Everyone in baseball thought I was just washed up,” said Smith, who leads the majors with 20 saves. “I don’t know, maybe they thought I was going to throw a slider and have astroke.”

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Appropriate: Hakeem Olajuwon’s surname translates to “Always being on top.”

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Not so gentle hint: “To put this as delicately as possible,” wrote John Hillyer in the San Francisco Examiner, “referee Jack Madden has served the NBA long and reasonably well, and now may be the time for him to sit back and savor the memories.”

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Lively: Detroit Tiger Manager Sparky Anderson, on whether the ball is livelier this year:

“I didn’t believe the thing is alive, but I’m beginning to believe it. You’re hearing noises. Even when you’re just holding the ball, you’re hearing noises. It’s getting a little fishy.”

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Low wattage? Bernie Lincicome in the Chicago Tribune, on Scottie Pippen’s sit-down strike in the final seconds of an NBA playoff game with the New York Knicks:

“If Pippen were a light bulb, he wouldn’t be bright enough to make shadow puppets.”

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Ahead of his time: The three-point shooting zone for basketball was advocated by Howard Hobson, a former Oregon coach, as far back as 1945 .

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Looking back: On this day in 1983, the Philadelphia 76ers won the NBA championship with a 115-108 victory over the Lakers, completing a four-game sweep.

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Trivia answer: Red Rocha and Paul Seymour of Syracuse, with 67 minutes against Boston on March 21, 1953. The game went to four overtimes.

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Quotebook: Baseball announcer Jerry Coleman: “On the mound is Randy Jones, the left-hander with a Karl Marx hairdo.”