Maybe He Can Turn the Radio Up Real Loud

Because of the blizzard that blanketed the East, college basketball commentator Dick Vitale couldn’t find a flight to get from last Saturday’s North Carolina-Maryland game to Connecticut for the UConn-Villanova game, which was played Tuesday night after having been postponed Monday.

So he hired an airport limousine and spent eight hours on snowbound roads to New England. Tough luck for Vitale, but as Fred Lief of the Associated Press pointed out:

“Think of the limo driver. Eight hours with Vitale and not a mute button in reach.”

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Trivia time: Other than UCLA, how many Division I basketball schools have won 30 or more games in a season without a loss?

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W-w-w-elcome home: When the Eagles, delayed for a day in Dallas because of the Eastern blizzard after their 30-11 loss to the Cowboys last Sunday, finally got back to Philadelphia, they found their cars under 2 1/2-foot-deep snow drifts in the Veterans Stadium parking lot.

Snowplows--much in demand in the city--helped get them out so the players could finally go home. There was some talk about heading straight for Florida.

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Going down! Quarterbacks Drew Bledsoe of New England and Rick Mirer of Seattle were the Nos. 1 and 2 overall picks of the 1993 NFL draft.

In their third seasons, they finished tied for last in the AFC quarterback rankings. Each had a rating of 63.7.

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Bad ratio: The Denver Broncos had nearly twice as many knee operations, 15, as victories, eight, this season.

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Put-down: Charles Barkley of the Phoenix Suns after attending the Fiesta Bowl with longtime Grambling Coach Eddie Robinson and former teammate Danny Ainge:

“I’m sitting here with one guy who’s a legend in his own time and another one who’s a legend in his own mind.”

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Futility: Jack Buck on CBS radio during the Cowboys’ rout of the Eagles: “Every time the Eagles get the ball, their punter starts to warm up.”

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Muzzled: Walt Williams of the Sacramento Kings plays with a plastic mask to protect a broken nose and is decidedly uncomfortable with it.

“It gets foggy and then it gets wet and the sweat slips down into my eyes,” he said. “And I can’t wipe my eyes without taking my mask off.”

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Compensation problem: Pierre Page, the Calgary Flames’ coach and former general manager of the Quebec Nordiques, on the trade in 1991 that sent Eric Lindros from Quebec to Philadelphia:

“He was traded for six players, three draft picks and $15 million, and it still wasn’t equal value. That goes to show how good he is.”

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Really? In a memorable quote from the baseball season, Jeff Torborg said on CBS radio: “Wrigley Field--it sort of reminds you of some of the old ballparks.”

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Trivia answer: Two. North Carolina, 1957, and Indiana, 1976, both 32-0.

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Quotebook: Hartford Whaler owner Peter Karmanos assessing the field of expansion possibilities in the NHL: “Not Cleveland. God, no!”