Maybe Ushers Will Double as Sky-Caps

Dan Barreiro of the Star Tribune of Minneapolis fondly recalls the many sports events at Chicago Stadium over the years--even an NFL championship game in 1932:

“(In 1932), the Chicago Bears beat the Portsmouth (Ohio) Spartans, 9-0, at Chicago Stadium. A blizzard made it impossible to play outdoors, so the game was moved (inside) and played on an 80-yard field.”

The old stadium is scheduled to be demolished and replaced by the United Center across the street.

“You build an arena in 1929 and you name it after a city,” Barreiro writes. “You build an arena in 1994 and you name it after a sponsor.”

Trivia time: Who holds the record for most assists in an NBA finals game?

Fashion statement: Ray Ratto writes in the San Francisco Examiner:

“Capsule reviews of the new baseball uniforms: Milwaukee, awful. Cleveland, perfectly horrid. Texas, dull yet inoffensive. Detroit, straight out of the Chunichi Dragons discard pile. Chicago Cubs, an inexplicable rip-off of the Cuban national team.

Nickname--N.E.: It was reported recently in this space that when Bill Van Landingham joined the San Francisco Giants he became the 13th player in major league history with 13 letters in his last name.

For total letters in a full name, it’s difficult to beat a UCLA high jumper from Ceylon in the late 1950s and early ‘60s:

Nagalingam Ethirveerasingam.

Inflated: From the collectors’ Sportslook magazine: “The recent Michael Jordan-dominated Upper Deck Authenticated catalogue has caused a bit of moaning and groaning around the hobby, as many dealers and collectors feel that the $299 price tag on Jordan baseballs is ‘outrageous.’ ”

Especially since the price is about .099 higher than his minor league batting average.

Thug era: Bryan Burwell of USA Today, yearning for the good old days of the NBA, writes: “Magic’s Lakers are gone. Larry’s Celtics are a wisp. Isiah’s Pistons, Jordan’s Bulls, Dr. J.’s 76ers are all distant memories.

“Now it’s Gary Payton’s Sonics. It’s John Starks’ Knicks. Uggh. That sends shivers down the spine of every basketball purist’s sensibilities.”

Road hazards: In his book, “Peanuts & Crackerjack,” David Cataneo reports an unforgettable trip by the Louisville Cardinals of the American Assn. in June, 1904:

Louisville to Indianapolis: train collision.

Indianapolis to St. Paul: Snowstorm forces cancellation of game.

St. Paul to Kansas City: Train derails in flood.

Kansas City bus to ballpark: Bus collides with trolley.

Trivia answer: Magic Johnson of the Lakers, with 21 assists against Boston on June 3, 1984.

Quotebook: John Lowenstein, the Baltimore Orioles’ designated hitter in 1982: “I flush the john between innings to keep my wrists strong.”