Tough to Get ‘SportsCenter’ on That Thing

Arizona State basketball Coach Bill Frieder was killing time in a hotel room recently and wandered into sports information director Doug Tammaro’s room.

Trying to change the TV channel, Frieder fumbled with what he thought was the remote.

“Why doesn’t this thing work?” the exasperated coach said, flinging it across the room.

“Because,” Tammaro said, “that’s my calculator.”

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Trivia time: When did UCLA make its first appearance in the NCAA basketball tournament?

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Solo act: Blackie Sherrod in the Dallas Morning News: “After his last knockout victory, Oliver McCall told a TV audience he owed thanks to ‘God and Don King.’ King, caught in the background, was missing his usual exuberant smile, leading one to suspect he wasn’t enthused over sharing the billing.”

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Boss rules: New York Yankee owner George Steinbrenner on new General Manager Bob Watson: “He’s done a magnificent job. Well, let’s just say a very good job. I don’t say magnificent about anyone.”

Yourself included, George?

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Showtime: After a 22-year absence, pro hockey is returning to Macon, Ga., in the form of an expansion team in the Southern Hockey League. The team will resurrect an old nickname--the Macon Whoopee.

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His hang-up: Golfer Phil Mickelson has a pilot’s license, has engaged in bungee jumping and is considering skydiving. But he told Golf World magazine that he draws the line at hang gliding:

“See, you don’t come home from that and say that you had a bad day--because you just don’t come home.”

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All aboard! Add two more names as possibilities for Baltimore’s new NFL team: the Railers and Steamers.

The names solicited from the B&O; Museum last week grew out of the city’s roots as the birthplace of the American railroad.

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Vacancy: Gary Shelton in the St. Petersburg Times: “[Wayne] Gretzky said the reason he moved [to St. Louis] was that he goes wherever the Rams go. Which is why you almost never see him in an end zone.”

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Looking back: USC, under Coach Bob Boyd, had a 24-2 record in 1970-71, but wasn’t selected for the NCAA basketball tournament. UCLA beat USC twice, and won the conference and NCAA championships.

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Trivia answer: UCLA lost to Bradley, 73-59, in a first-round West Regional game in 1950.

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Quotebook: Outfielder Ron Gant, now with the St. Louis Cardinals, recalling his relationship with Marge Schott, owner of the Cincinnati Reds: “She didn’t even know my name; it was always ‘Hon.’ ”