Was That a Plaque or a Plague They Gave the Coach?

It was bad enough for Louisiana Tech Coach Leon Barmore when his top-ranked team lost to Georgia in the NCAA women’s Midwest Regional, but after that things got worse.

When Barmore was presented a plaque for being named national coach of the year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Assn., it read:

“Leon Barmore, Louisianna Tech, National Women’s Freshman Of The Year.”

Not only was his school’s name misspelled, but the freshman of the year was Tennessee’s Chamique Holdsclaw.

The writers promised to get Barmore a new plaque.

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Trivia time: Angel Manager Marcel Lachemann and designated hitter Chili Davis attended the same high school. What school is it?

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Ouch! Newsday’s Jon Heyman called the Dodgers “the most improved team” in the majors, then added this jab: “They might even be exciting enough to keep Tommy Lasorda awake in the dugout.”

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Last to first: In the first two races this season, Winston Cup stock car champion Jeff Gordon finished 42nd and 40th.

“This sport can humble you real quick,” he said. “You think you’re on top of the world, and the next thing you know you’re spun around backward and things aren’t going like they ought to be.”

Since then, Gordon has won three of four races.

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No easy job: The toughest part of managing a major league baseball team may be cutting a veteran player. When Cito Gaston of the Toronto Blue Jays dropped pitcher Danny Cox, an 11-year major leaguer, this was his reaction:

“It was like telling a friend you can’t use him anymore. It’s like a death. If you send a young man down to the minors, he has another chance for life in the bigs. But for a veteran, it could be the end of his career.”

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Turnabout: Manager Dusty Baker of the San Francisco Giants says his third baseman, Matt Williams, might break Roger Maris’ season record of 61 home runs.

“I was just a kid when Maris did it, but I remember reading he was losing part of his hair,” Baker told the New York Times. What about Williams, who is bald?

“His might grow back,” Baker quipped.

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The easy way: Stan Albeck was head coach of four NBA teams between 1979 and 1986, then took four years off before returning as an assistant to Butch Beard of the New Jersey Nets. What’s the difference?

“Being an assistant, I can go home after a game and sleep,” he said. “And I don’t have ring around the collar after a game, either.”

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High risk: Baltimore Oriole General Manager Pat Gillick on signing free agents: “If you make a mistake on a kid in the farm system, nobody will hear about that. But if you make a mistake [on a big-money acquisition], that’s a different story.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1876, the first official National League baseball game was played, with Boston beating Philadelphia, 6-5.

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Happy birthday: Don Sutton, one of the Dodgers’ all-time great pitchers, is 48 today.

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Trivia answer: Dorsey High in Los Angeles.