WOODEN WISDOM: In 23 seasons as head...

WOODEN WISDOM: In 23 seasons as head basketball coach, UCLA legend John Wooden says he never had a player ejected for roughing up a referee. . . . Yet he worries that the boorish behavior afflicting the Lakers lately could spread from the NBA to college hoops and other sports. “They are being more permissive in not cracking down on taunting and showmanship, and one thing leads to another,” said Wooden, now retired and living in Encino.

MOTOR MANNERS: Though a rarity today, car vs. horse collisions like the one the other day in Sylmar (B1) merited more attention when the automobile first appeared in the rural San Fernando Valley. . . . The Auto Club’s 1905 vehicle code digest instructed motorists to stop at the signal of a person “riding, leading or driving a restive horse,” and, if the animal appeared frightened, to “cause the motor of such vehicle to cease running.”

REAL PROPERTY: The condominium sales report (D7B): Condo sales in the Valley increased 58% last month compared to a year earlier. . . . But the average sales price, says the San Fernando Valley Assn. of Realtors, fell 12%, to $84,000.

SCHOOL DAZE: After a weeklong spring break, students in the Los Angeles Unified School District were back in class Monday--at least most of them were. . . . At Patrick Henry Middle School in Granada Hills, the 10% absentee rate was twice as high as usual as families took an extra day to recuperate, said Fanny Italia, who tallies attendance. Be patient: just 10 more weeks until. . . .