He’s Become the Honorary King of Hitting the Books

After receiving an honorary doctorate from Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C., a black private college, boxing promoter Don King launched into an unexpected 45-minute sermon about the role that the school has played.

“I want all the young people to know how far we have come,” King said. “Education is so vitally important.

“Slave owners would kill their white brothers and sisters if they would teach you to write. So there must be something mighty powerful about reading and writing.”

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More King: He was introduced by Willie Gary, chairman of the Board of Trustees, who donated $200,000 toward building the Don King Fitness Center.

“If [Gary] is going to pledge $200,000 for a building named for me, I’m going to have to pledge some millions,” King said.

He did not say how many millions.

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Trivia time: Which schools share the NCAA Division I-A record for fewest turnovers in a season?

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Vicious: Mark Madden in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on the NBA lockout:

“The players want 60% of the NBA’s $2-billion annual revenues. That’s roughly a dollar for each child they’ve fathered out of wedlock.”

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Daunting task: Bernie Lincicome of the Chicago Tribune says he hopes married life helps Dennis Rodman focus on something other than himself:

“There Carmen [Electra] will be, getting Dennis up early so he won’t be tardy for work anymore, packing his lunch, making sure his socks are darned and his feathered boa isn’t molting.”

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Dreary tune: Howard Schnellenberger, former college coach and now the athletic director at Florida Atlantic University, doesn’t like the way Miami Dolphin Coach Jimmy Johnson is using Dan Marino--emphasizing running instead of passing:

“They’ve got a concert pianist sitting at the keyboard wearing handcuffs, and the only thing he can play is ‘Chopsticks.’ ”

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FYI: The 10 turnovers in Saturday’s USC-UCLA game--seven by the Trojans, three by the Bruins--were one short of the Pacific 10 record.

In the 1975 game, UCLA committed eight turnovers (also a record) and USC three for a total of 11.

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Looking back: On this day in 1984, Doug Flutie threw for 472 yards to lead Boston College to a 47-45 upset of Miami with a last-second touchdown pass to Gerald Phelan.

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Trivia answer: Miami of Ohio, 1966, and Clemson, 1940, eight each.

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And finally: Bruce Keidan in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “When and only when Penn State loses a football game, print references to Joe Paterno invariably mention his age.

“He was simply ‘Paterno’ when he won his 300th game early this fall. But after losing to Michigan (Nov. 7), he was ‘Paterno, who is almost 72.’

“Allow me to complete that sentence fragment in 25 words or less: ‘Paterno, who is almost 72, still has more on the ball than a whole lot of sportswriters who haven’t turned 50 yet.”

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Quotebook: Bill Fitch, former Clipper coach, who was recently inducted into the Coe (Iowa) College Hall of Fame: “A lot of people said I came to Coe because it was the only school I could spell.”