This Gets to the Guts of the Story

When the late Tommy Prothro coached at UCLA, some of his over-achieving teams were known as “the gutty little Bruins.”

That designation was originated by Dean Cromwell, USC’s track and field coach, in the 1940s. When asked once about his next opponent, Cromwell, whose teams never lost to UCLA, said, “Oh, we’re going to meet [former UCLA coach] Ducky Drake’s gutty little Bruins.”

Now you know.

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Trivia time: How much did fighting decrease in the NHL this season?

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Of course: In the “Behind the Scenes” column in the Detroit News, it was reported that changing uniform numbers is a plot by Michael Jordan to get his own franchise. He’ll call it New Jersey.

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Tastes great (less filling): Gordie Howe, who lost seven teeth playing hockey, said when players used to go to a bar, they stored their false teeth in their beer glasses.

Said Howe: “You’d turn around for just one second, and a waitress would have come and taken all the glasses. We’d have to chase her and yell, ‘Hey, you have our teeth.’ Then we’d have to figure out whose were whose.”

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But no cavities: A recent poll showed 68% of professional hockey players had lost at least one tooth playing games.

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Or Homer Simpson: An item in the Boston Globe identified a potential candidate for the Miami Heat coaching job as “Oklahoma’s Calvin Sampson.” That’s what Kelvin Sampson gets for working in Pullman, Wash., and now in Norman, Okla.

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What about spitting? Former major leaguer Dale Murphy is director of player development for the Utah Little League and was asked by the Denver Post’s Jerry Crasnick the difference in personnel between the big and the little leagues.

Said Murphy: “These guys eat more candy during games.”

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Where’s the beach? The venue for beach volleyball at the ’96 Atlanta Olympics is more than 250 miles from the nearest ocean.

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Mac the Knife: Rick McNair, a member of the U.S. national water polo team, cut his finger with a pocket knife while training in Tuscaloosa, Ala., the Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported. How does a water polo player train with a pocket knife?

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Show biz: Larry Thompson is a television and film producer and a former co-owner of New World Pictures. He’s also one of the bidders who tried to buy the New England Patriots. Asked about the wisdom of such an investment, Thompson said, “Well, $135 million or so is a lot of money to pay for a headache.”

Hey, sounds like Hollywood.

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Trivia answer: It didn’t--fighting major penalties per game were up for the first time in six seasons.

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Quotebook: Writer Dan Jenkins on his coronary bypass operation that didn’t go unnoticed by the PGA Tour Board: “I want to thank the board for wishing me a speedy recovery, by a vote of 5-4.”