Maybe They Should Call It ‘Crooked’

A definition of cricket in Webster’s dictionary is “fair and honorable behavior.”

So what is one to think when the International Cricket Council asked Australian authorities to substantiate allegations that Australian players were offered bribes on last year’s tour of Pakistan.

The Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald reported an attempt to bribe Shane Warne and Tim May before the first test in Karachi. The report said the bribe offer was rejected.

It wasn’t cricket.

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Trivia time: Who holds the NCAA Division I record for most rebounds in a game?

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Miner role: Harold Miner, former USC standout and NBA slam dunk champion, plays sparingly for the Miami Heat. And he doesn’t get high grades from Alex Marvev of the Miami Herald. A sampling:

“From starter to see-ya-later, Miner is expected to be exposed in this summer’s expansion draft. He started 12 games at season’s onset, but now only plays when games aren’t close.”

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Lenny the diplomat? Dan Shaughnessy in the Boston Globe on Lenny Dykstra’s position of possibly accepting a mediator’s proposal to end the baseball strike:

“Hail, Lenny Dykstra. He’s a gambler. He drives too fast. He swears and spits too much. He’s actually a bit of a pig. But finally a ball player has had the guts to say something that wasn’t in Donald Fehr’s script.”

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Just a big kid: Anfernee Hardaway of the Orlando Magic, on his teammate, Shaquille O’Neal:

“He’s always playing jokes on everybody. He’ll light a firecracker and set it down in the seat next to you. And he’s got this red laser-light that he’s always shining in everybody’s eyes.”

Remember, he’s only 22.

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The price of pneumonia: When the Tampa Bay Lightning visited Buffalo recently, the Sabres ran a promotion offering free admission to fans who showed up for the game wearing swimsuits.

The temperature at game time was near zero with a wind-chill factor approaching minus-40, but several hundred fans braved the weather for the free tickets.

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Poker player: Golf Digest reports that Pete Doerr had an unusual inside straight on the back nine at Coldwater, Mich., Country Club with an eagle, two birdies and two pars for a score of 1-2-3-4-5.

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Looking back: On this day in 1980, rookie Wayne Gretzky tied the NHL record with seven assists in a game and set a season scoring record of 96 points for first-year players as the Edmonton Oilers routed the Washington Capitals, 8-2.

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Trivia answer: Bill Chambers of William & Mary with 51 against Virginia on Feb. 14, 1953.

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Quotebook: Mike McCormack, Carolina Panther president, on today’s NFL allocation draft: “The thought doesn’t quicken the heart any. We don’t expect very much at all.”