He’ll Have to Be Chew-sy About His Criticism

Philadelphia Phillie pitcher Curt Schilling was once “the poster boy in baseball’s war against chewing tobacco,” writes Sam Donellon in the Philadelphia Daily News.

Among other things, Schilling said, “I wonder how the tobacco companies, the people who do this, can sleep at night.”

Part of the reason is the profits from backsliders.

Like Schilling.

After swearing off the chew, he was given a bit during an off-season golf game and found himself hooked again.

“No one is more disappointed in me than me,” he said.

He hides it from everyone he can, including teammates.

“I’ve made a conscious effort not to be blatant about it,” he said. “And knowing that I am trying to keep it out of your view is admitting to you guys, in a secretive way, that I know I’ve screwed up.”

*

Trivia time: What is Jet Coach Bill Parcells’ given first name?

*

Great scouting: Anybody notice that, at times, the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs had a lineup of a Naval Academy grad, David Robinson; a player from American International (Mass.), Mario Elie; one from Southern (La.) University, Avery Johnson; another from Drexel (in Philadelphia), Malik Rose, and one from Longwood (Va.) College, Jerome Kersey?

*

Inmate runs asylum: Greg Cote writes in the Miami Herald about Pat Riley’s being on the committee to revamp the NBA:

“Our man Pat was not apt to commend much revamping, of course, considering his particular style of play, ingrained first in the Knicks and now in the Heat, makes Riley a sort of godfather to the shift toward ugly play in the first place. Appointing Riley to this committee was like naming Hannibal Lecter chairman of your ad hoc to combat cannibalism.”

*

Class is in session: Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Steve Hummer asked Terry Yake, a Thrasher choice in the NHL expansion draft, on what he knew about his new team and learned, “Back where I come from, everybody’s making jokes about a thrasher being a combine.”

Yake is from New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, and a combine is a farm machine used in harvesting grain.

And finally, in this case a Thrasher is a kind of bird commonly found in Georgia.

*

Tough assignment: After Michael Irvin scolded reporters for not understanding the source of his troubles and Deion Sanders signed a new contract and sent reporters to his non-responsive agent for details, Tim Cowlishaw wrote in the Dallas Morning News:

“It’s not exactly a dirty little secret that dozens of media types in the area would rather be sent to cover a junior bowling tournament than to deal with the Cowboys. This is not entirely the players’ fault and is more a function of the mass coverage they receive for doing, well, nothing.”

*

Trivia answer: Duane, as in Duane Charles Parcells, which somehow has become Bill. Or occasionally “Tuna.”

*

And finally: Chicago Tribune columnist Steve Rosenbloom got a fax from Peg Wolfe, who had just heard Phil Jackson say Kobe Bryant reminded him “a lot of Michael Jordan.” Wrote Wolfe: “Sure, just like Madeleine Albright puts me in mind of Pamela Anderson Lee.”