He’d Have to Be Beside Himself for This Fight

Tony Zale, who died last week at 83, was the middleweight champion when he joined the Navy in 1942.

Shirley Povich of the Washington Post recalled that when Zale registered at the Great Lakes boot camp, the registration officer demanded: “Name and occupation.”

“Anthony Zaleski,” said Zale, giving his true name. “Professional boxer, middleweight.”

Said the officer, “I’d hate to be in your shoes, Zaleski. Tony Zale is due here this week.”

Trivia time: The Louisiana State women’s track team has won a record 10 consecutive NCAA Division I outdoor championships. What is the record for the men?

Let’s hope not: CBS-TV analyst Al McGuire, on the age difference between Minnesota basketball Coach Clem Haskins and UCLA’s Steve Lavin: “I think Clem has underwear older than Steve Lavin.”

Final Final Four? Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post predicts that Rick Pitino won’t return next season as Kentucky’s basketball coach:

“It won’t be long before the [Boston] Celtics come calling, and it’ll be an offer Pitino can’t and likely won’t refuse.”

The new Lute: Greg Olson of the Arizona Daily Star, commenting on Arizona Coach Lute Olson’s demeanor at an NCAA tournament news conference a week ago in Birmingham, Ala.:

“Vibrant and smiling, as charming as a fraternity rush chairman, Lute Olson arrived minus his old accomplices, suspicion and bitterness.”

Wrong adjective: Phil Mushnick of the New York Post, in response to people calling trash-talking Long Island University a Cinderella team in the NCAA tournament: “If Cinderella was a hooker.”

Yanks’ pranks: While Mariano Rivera is taking John Wetteland’s role as the New York Yankees’ closer, the team may have to go to a jester by committee to replace Wetteland’s antics.

Enter David Wells, the burly left-hander who is willing to have fun with the business of baseball.

“Getting out there and running around with the boys talking smack, that’s what it’s all about,” Wells said. “You can’t just go out there and be robots. It gets boring.”

Looking back: On this day in 1982, Michael Jordan’s jump shot with 16 seconds left gave North Carolina a 63-62 victory over Georgetown in the NCAA men’s championship game.

Trivia answer: Nine, by Dean Cromwell’s USC teams from 1935 to 1943. The Trojans won seven consecutive NCAA track championships from 1949 to 1955.

And finally: Utah Coach Rick Majerus was overwhelmed by the locker rooms at the University of Arizona for the NCAA West Regional.

“I don’t care about those things, but I never lived in a house as nice as that locker room,” he said. “It has carpeting and leather in there and a nice big television.

“If I ever had the [Arizona] job, I’d just move into the locker room.”