This Sport Gets Tangled in Sticky Wicket

“It’s not cricket” has been a phrase that has been synonymous with bad sportsmanship for generations. Now, a South African star is alleged to have fixed a match for up to $15,000.

Cricket officials in South Africa dropped Hansie Cronje from the national team before Wednesday’s match against Australia and suspended him without pay pending an investigation.

Cronje said he had pretended to influence matches with alleged bookies who contacted him but had no intention of doing so. But, according to a cricket official, Cronje was given between $10,000 and $15,000 to fix a match but has not deposited the money.

So, if cricket isn’t on the level, what is?

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Trivia time: Who was the first major league player to hit two grand slams in a game?

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All-Interview MVP: Skip Bayless of the Chicago Tribune, on the Cubs’ Mark Grace:

“No player I’ve encountered in any sport can match Grace’s postgame wit and fearless insight. . . .

“Grace can remove himself and view the game he’s playing the way an analyst or reporter does. Grace sometimes knows even better than sportswriters what we need.”

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P-p-p-play ball: Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, commenting on the frigid home opener for the Pirates: “The Pirates offered free coffee and hot chocolate after the third inning. You should have seen the fans--hundreds of them--running to the concession stands.

“Although it’s a proven fact people will accept a bag of garbage if it’s free, this was about survival. Who wants frostbite at a baseball game?”

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A vote for Phil: Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune writes that Phil Jackson deserves to be named NBA coach of the year.

“Jackson has done what the great coaches do. He has put players in position to succeed, such as A.C. Green and Ron Harper. Ask Steve Kerr or Luc Longley, who can barely get on the court now that they’re not playing for Jackson.”

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Give him the ball: Steve Serby of the New York Post, on the Keyshawn Johnson trade to Tampa Bay: “It’s over. The Jets now can give up that Super Bowl they have been chasing since 1969.

“Allow me to spell it out loudly and clearly for Woody Johnson, for Bill Parcells, for Al Groh, the powers-that-be that have crashed the Jets: NO KEYSHAWN, NO SUPER BOWL.”

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FYI: From the Gallery column of the San Diego Union-Tribune: “Q: What do Shaquille O’Neal and Patrick Ewing have in common with John Travolta, the Duchess of York, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Jamie Lee Curtis, Debbie Boone and Jane Seymour?

“A: All have written children’s books.”

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Trivia answer: Tony Lazzeri of the New York Yankees on May 24, 1936.

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And finally: Conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh is interested in becoming a broadcast partner of Al Michaels on “Monday Night Football,” according to USA Today.

Said CNN/SI’s Peter King: “If [ABC’s] serious about Rush, it would be an attention getter. The question is, do you lose more left-wingers than you gain right-wingers?”