It Took a Title for 1971-72 Lakers to Convince West

Miami Heat Coach Pat Riley, who refers to himself as a “super sub” on the NBA champion 1971-72 Laker team, told the Miami Herald:

“We had the greatest team in the history of the game. The [Chicago] Bulls will win 70 games [which they did Tuesday night], but what we did, winning 33 straight, nobody is going to match that.”

Riley added that Jerry West was pessimistic about the prospects of winning a championship in 1972.

“Jerry was desperate,” Riley said. “He had never won a title. He lost six times in a row, and he was a basket case. He thought we would find a way to lose. I will never forget him. He kept saying, ‘We aren’t going to do it this year.’ He was always the doomsayer.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the major league record since 1900 for the highest batting average in a season?

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Wait a minute: Blackie Sherrod in the Dallas Morning News: “From Cowboy offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese: ‘Michael Irvin is a class act.’ Another proof, of course, that there is more than one definition of class.”

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Gagging: After Greg Norman blew a six-shot lead to lose the Masters, Jay Leno called him the “Unachoker.”

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No gentleman: Jimmy Spencer’s reputation as NASCAR’s resident thug led to a light moment when the drivers were given the traditional command to fire up their engines last Sunday at North Wilkesboro, N.C.

Radio host John Isley issued the following instructions to the 37 drivers: “Gentlemen--and Jimmy Spencer--start your engines!”

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Optimist: St. Louis Cardinal relief pitcher Jeff Parrett: “One good thing about cold weather is that you can ice your arm while you’re pitching.”

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Here’s to you: From David Letterman: “Yesterday in Texas, Dwight Gooden made his debut as a Yankee, pitching against the Texas Rangers. Even though it was a road game, Gooden received a standing ovation from the beer vendors.”

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Trading down: Timothy W. Smith of the New York Times predicts that the New York Jets will trade their No. 1 selection in the NFL draft to acquire two other picks later in the first round. He projects that USC wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson will go to Baltimore as the No. 4 pick in the draft.

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FYI: Mike Powell and Cecil Fielder were honored in 1981 on the all-San Gabriel Valley League basketball team. Powell played for Edgewood High in West Covina, Fielder for Nogales High in La Puente.

Powell, the world-record holder in the long jump, will compete Sunday in the Mt. San Antonio Relays in Walnut. Fielder will play first base for the Detroit Tigers at Anaheim Stadium against the Angels.

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Trivia answer: Rogers Hornsby of the St. Louis Cardinals, .424 in 1924.

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And finally: When the Detroit Tigers’ new stadium opens in 1999, more than 1,000 seats will be equipped with computers that will allow fans to access statistics, order food, check stock closings and make dinner reservations.

Maybe they’ll even have time to see the game.