Here’s a Pair That Really Needed a Pump

NBA action is fantastic, or so we have been led to believe. Now comes the revelation that NBA basketball also is a game of sole.

The Detroit-Cleveland game Friday night was delayed for seven minutes in the second quarter because of moisture on the court of the Palace of Auburn Hills, Mich. The problem was thought to be condensation from the Detroit Viper ice rink underneath the basketball floor but it turned out to be a leak in the inner sole of Danny Ferry’s shoe.

“All the shoes have that syrup in them, but I just got a lemon,” Ferry said.

Sounds as if Ferry is wearing crepes.

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Trivia time: What USC defensive back, now an NFL head coach, tipped a pass that Freeman McNeil caught and took in for a touchdown in UCLA’s 20-17 victory in 1980 at the Coliseum?

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Sticks and stones: They’re taking owner Art Modell’s planned move of the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore somewhat hard in Ohio. This from columnist Bob Hunter of the Columbus Dispatch:

“The Cleveland Browns’ owner has the spine of a jellyfish, the scruples of a grave robber, the greed of a drug dealer and the character of a repressive Third World thug.”

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A moving experience: Tony Grossi in the Cleveland Plain Dealer on the NFL: “Fans can no longer jump on bandwagons to follow their favorite teams. They must jump on moving vans.”

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Hard act to follow: George Foreman said he recently addressed a political rally in Bakersfield, but only after former Presidents Gerald Ford and George Bush had already spoken.

Said Foreman: “They told me neither one of them wanted to come on after old George.”

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Bullpen car is a limo: What’s that about the price of success? The Indians went from an $8.3-million payroll in 1992 to one for a projected $42 million for 1996.

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Man of the cloth: Philadelphia 76er Coach John Lucas wants Richard Dumas to be more productive in the second halves of games.

“He fades like a cheap suit,” Lucas said.

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Trivia answer: Jeff Fisher of the Houston Oilers.

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Quotebook: Denver’s John Elway, who on three occasions quarterbacked the Broncos to playoff victories over the Cleveland Browns: “I’m no longer the most hated guy in Cleveland.”