For Definition of This Workout, See Painful

After the New York Islanders got off to a slower start in the NHL than he had hoped for, Coach-General Manager Mike Milbury brought a dictionary to center ice during practice one day. One by one, he read aloud such words as commitment, fear, hustle, compete, complete with Webster’s definition.

Between each word, he ordered his team to skate a lap. In all, there were 19 words, 19 definitions and 19 laps.

“I’ve got one word for that--uncle,” said right wing Mick Vukota. Defenseman Darius Kasparaitis was more graphic: “I feel like I’m back in Russia.”

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Trivia time: Who won the last race held at Ascot Park?

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Any answers? David Letterman, who is a minor partner on Bobby Rahal’s Indy car team, submitted a list of 10 questions at the CART awards banquet.

Among them was No. 9--”Aren’t we all getting a little tired of how good-looking Paul Newman is?” And No. 8--”232.25. Is that the pole speed at Michigan or [TV racing commentator] Paul Page’s weight?”

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Why not? After the Boston Celtics were booed unmercifully when they fell 23 points behind Indiana in the first half, only to come back and win, forward Dino Rajda had a suggestion:

“Maybe fans should come half an hour before the game starts and just start booing.”

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Fast finisher: Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News votes for Dolph Schayes as NBA comeback player of the half-century.

“Schayes made the NBA’s 25th anniversary team, got left off the 35-year edition but is back on the 50th,” explained Lawrence.

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Smart stuff: Hockey News gave its High IQ award to Eric Lindros of the Philadelphia Flyers, ahead of Keith Tkachuk of the Phoenix Coyotes--but it’s not what you think. This IQ stands for Intimidation Quotient.

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Spread it around: Rick Pitino, coach of Kentucky’s NCAA championship basketball team, has revealed his secret for success.

“I try to hire only future head coaches,” Pitino said. “If you came to our practices and you didn’t know me, you wouldn’t know who the head coach was. They have a major amount of responsibility. They’re out there really coaching.”

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Generation gap: Detroit Piston forward Rick Mahorn attended high school in Hartford, Conn., with the mother of Philadelphia 76er rookie guard Allen Iverson.

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Trivia answer: Stan Fox, in 1990 Turkey Night Midget Grand Prix.

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And finally: The British Medical Assn.’s latest appeal to have boxing abolished is a TV commercial showing children cracking chestnuts with sounds in the background from a boxing match. The message is that this is what happens to the brain of a prizefighter.