He’s Becoming a Big Fan of the King’s English

Dan Barreiro of the Minneapolis Star Tribune admits he has been “Kingified” after listening to boxing promoter Don King ramble on recently:

“I have heard him offer political advice to a Minneapolis city councilman, extol the virtues of a pork chop at a fashionable Minneapolis restaurant, explain the origins of ice fishing, offer opinions on gun control, the Louisiana Purchase and the Irish, and invoke the names of Gov. Jesse Ventura, Dinah Washington, Aristotle, Plato, John Mariucci and Prince.

“I have heard him link events and conditions that never have been linked before--and never will again.”

Comment: Only in America.

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Trivia time: Who holds the men’s NCAA Division I basketball tournament record for blocked shots in a game?

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Say it isn’t so: Steve Rosenbloom in the Chicago Tribune: “If the Yankees move to a new site and build a new ballpark, there’s talk of putting a sponsor’s name on it.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the House That Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse Built.”

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An all-Duke final? Ron Rapoport of the Chicago Sun-Times commenting on the depth of Duke’s basketball team:

“If [Coach Mike] Krzyzewski wanted to be a sport, he’d split his team in half and enter them both in the tournament. Seems only fair.”

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Remember when? The abbreviated NBA schedule of 50 games is not unprecedented. In the 1947-48 season, with only eight teams in the league, the regular-season schedule was 48 games.

The Baltimore Bullets won the championship, defeating Philadelphia in the final series.

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Outdoor note: “Forbes FYI” reports that Washington State’s Jim Logan, who conducts llama-training seminars, says his four-legged pupils can shut doors and turn on lights on command.

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Jeopardy: Comedy writer Alan Ray on the Baltimore Orioles playing an exhibition game in Havana: “They’ll be observing slightly different rules. In Cuba, no one is ever safe at home.”

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FYI: Times columnist Mike Downey is a character in Elmore Leonard’s new novel, “Be Cool.”

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FYI II: According to an Associated Press study, 35% of NBA players have at least one tattoo, compared with about 4% for the general population.

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Young entrepreneur: Keith Olbermann of Fox Sports News, after a clip of Mark McGwire’s first spring training home run:

“A stadium employee gave the ball to a 4-year-old girl. She’ll be conducting an auction tomorrow at Sotheby’s.”

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Foreign state: Chicago White Sox General Manager Ron Schueler, on Jaime Navarro’s missing the first day of camp: “Maybe he had a visa problem getting out of Wisconsin, where he lives.”

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Marked man: Colorado Avalanche Coach Bob Hartley, on rookie Chris Drury, who suffered his third facial cut in two games: “Right now he has more stitches in his face than a baseball.”

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Trivia answer: Louisiana State’s Shaquille O’Neal with 11 against Brigham Young in 1992. Shaq broke the record of 10 set by Shawn Bradley of BYU against Virginia in 1991.

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And finally: Ted Williams commenting to Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe on Joe DiMaggio:

“He was an American hero and a legend for sure. I never, ever, compared myself to him. For me to just be mentioned in the same breath, boy, I always felt like I was two steps below him.

“I thought I could hit with anybody, but he was, in my opinion, as good as any who ever played the game.”