He’s No Babe With the Wood Off the Court

Bernie Lincicome of the Chicago Tribune on Michael Jordan’s progress in the Arizona Fall League:

“Jordan stands at the plate in a defensive, open stance, feet at impotent angles, but better to get some urgent part of the bat on the ball.

“The Babe Ruth of basketball has become the Lucy Layup of baseball.”

*

Trivia time: Who holds the NCAA Division I-A record for highest rushing average in a career?

*

Game plan: Rolando Blackman, former NBA player, on the Greek he needs to learn for his stay with the AEK team in Athens:

“The first phrase I want to learn is, Give me the ball. The second is, Get out of the way. The rest will take care of itself.”

*

Waiting period: Bob Burns in the Sacramento Bee: “Los Angeles Clipper Coach Bill Fitch entered this season needing just five wins to move into fifth place on the NBA’s career coaching victories list.

“Good thing he signed a multiyear deal.”

*

Growing pains: Kerry Eggers in the (Portland) Oregonian on the progress of high-salaried Glenn Robinson of the Milwaukee Bucks:

“After a month on the job, the Big Dog has been more of a medium-sized pup. The Rottweiler everyone expects him to grow into is a young cocker spaniel now.”

*

Hear no evil: The Denver Broncos’ offensive linemen wore ear filters for Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.

The filters blocked out crowd noise while allowing the linemen to hear John Elway’s signals. They look like hearing aids.

Said center Dave Widell: “They drown out all the bad stuff like rap music and some bad country.”

*

Play me, or. . . . Kendall Gill of the Seattle SuperSonics wants more playing time. His agent, Arn Tellem, told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that the Sonics made certain promises about playing time when they acquired him from the Charlotte Hornets last year.

“I wouldn’t promise minutes to Michael Jordan,” Seattle Coach George Karl said.

No, George, Michael would tell you how many minutes he was going to play.

*

The .500 league: Bill Lyon in the Philadelphia Inquirer: “The NFL thrives on mediocrity. It tries to propagandize its product as parity.

“But the plain, unvarnished fact is, what the league is peddling isn’t so much equality in ability as equality in ordinariness.”

*

Looking back: On this day in 1973, Jerry West set an NBA record with 10 steals in the Lakers’ 115-111 loss to the Seattle SuperSonics.

*

Trivia answer: Glenn Davis of Army, 8.3 yards, 1943-46.

*

Quotebook: Pat Williams, Orlando Magic general manager, on the Clippers: “They’re already talking about changing coaches. They’re considering this guy from China. His name is Win Wun Soon.”