Texan Takes Shot at USC Basketball and Misses Badly
Steve Davis in the Dallas Morning News: “ ‘Love and Basketball’ is a new movie starring Omar Epps as a USC basketball player. The funny thing is, USC’s basketball legacy is just a little more storied than UT-Arlington’s.
“And funny thing No. 2 is, of the few USC players ever to make the NBA, two of them happen to play for the Mavericks--Robert Pack and Rodrick Rhodes.”
Davis didn’t do his homework. Twenty-six Trojans, among them Hall of Famer Bill Sharman, have played or are playing in the NBA.
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Trivia time: What is the NBA team record for fewest free throws made in a playoff game?
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Different breed? A recently published study by two behavioral psychologists concludes that “pathologically narcissistic, competitive and regressive dynamics” lead men to climb mountains, particularly Mount Everest.
Alan Hinkes, who has scaled 11 of the world’s highest peaks, was indignant when he learned of the study.
“You are out exercising in the middle of fantastic scenery with some good mates,” he said. “It’s a very simple pleasure. That’s all.”
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Jailed celebrity: Ron Rapoport in the Chicago Sun-Times: “There’s no fan like a Packer fan: Corrections officers in Waukesha, Wis., have been disciplined for getting Mark Chmura’s autograph while he was in jail on allegations of sexual assault.
“One officer got the tight end’s signature on a copy of his mug shot.”
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More Rapoport: “Have they considered running the Boston Marathon through the streets of Nairobi? To cut down on travel costs, I mean.”
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Wing gorging: Mike Monroe in the Denver Post: “Goofiest promotion of the year? The [Cleveland] Cavaliers’ ‘wing wars.’ During a Milwaukee game, teams of fans raced to see who could eat the most Buffalo wings during the game.
“From tipoff to halftime, one team finished 200. They won a trip to the Bahamas, where we hope they don’t wear Speedos.”
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It figures: Scott Ostler in the San Francisco Chronicle: “No sport is as obsessed with statistics as baseball is. If you see an armored truck pull up outside the ballpark, it’s not bringing cash, it’s bringing boxes of decimal points.”
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Soft skull: The mouse mascot for the Capital City Bombers’ minor league baseball team in Columbia, S.C., is on the injured list.
The mascot had to be taken out of a game and given a day off after a player on the opposing team gave him a friendly tap on the head with his glove.
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Trivia answer: Three, by Houston in 1977 (eight attempts), the Lakers in 1983 (five), and New Jersey in 1993 (three).
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And finally: Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee commenting on Portland’s Rasheed Wallace, the NBA leader in technical fouls with 38:
“Were he an actor, [Wallace] would win basketball’s Oscar, hands down. The man is that convincing. His screech shatters glass, his scowl scares small children, and when he throws his hands up in disgust, then flails wildly at thin air?
“Hey, he frightens adults too, sometimes even his own teammates.”