Buddy Ball Might Play Better on TV

Buddy bashing has become a popular pastime, and Dave Caldwell of the Philadelphia Inquirer gets his licks in on Buddy Ryan, the Arizona Cardinal and former Eagle coach:

“Ryan appears as a blustery, obnoxious NFL coach in a December episode of ‘Coach,’ the TV sitcom starring Craig T. Nelson. The name of the character he plays just happens to be Buddy Ryan.

“The Bud Man goes up against Hayden Fox’s expansion Orlando Breakers, who have yet to win a game. Wanna bet that they will find a way to beat him too?”

Trivia time: What is the NBA regular-season record for most free throws made by a player in a game?

Does he shave?Sam Mitchell of the Minnesota Timberwolves after being told that 19-year-old rookie teammate Kevin Garnett had said that he is too smart to get into any trouble:

“The kid is not old enough to get in any place where he can get into trouble.”

Fight fan: Don Cherry, the outspoken Canadian television commentator, told Mark Madden of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that fighting in the NHL is simply part of the game.

“A cross check in the head--that’s violence,” Cherry said. “Six quarterbacks getting knocked out every week in the NFL--that’s violence. A hockey fight? A broken nose, at worst. Come on.

“You have to realize what made this sport popular in the first place. It’s a hard-hitting, rough, tough game. It’s not a ballet on ice.”

Hard to forget: Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post on franchises moving in the NFL:

“When you see that Colts’ helmet, don’t you think of Baltimore almost every time, even though the franchise has been in Indianapolis a dozen years?

“Is the Rams’ insignia ever going to look appropriate under the Arch in St. Louis? The very sound of the name Baltimore Browns annoys me like fingernails on a blackboard.”

Early Mother’s Day: Anthony Mason, who signed a six-year, $24-million contract with the New York Knicks in September, surprised his mother, Mary Mason, recently by having a new Mercedes-Benz delivered to her home in White Plains, N.Y.

“You tell Anthony I’m screaming and hollering,” she said. “He even sent roses with it. What a good boy.”

Trivia answer: Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors made 28 against the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962, and Adrian Dantley of the Utah Jazz also made 28 against the Houston Rockets on Jan. 4, 1984.

Bob Cousy of the Boston Celtics made 30 in a four-overtime, NBA playoff game against Syracuse in 1953. He sank 30 of 32.

Quotebook: Kenny Anderson, disgruntled star of the New Jersey Nets who recently turned down a six-year, $40-million deal: “The public or the fans would say, ‘Wow, $40 million! That’s a lot of money. Take it.’ But it’s not so much that. I just want to be happy.”