It’s Hard to Be Down on Farm

Greg Hansen of the Arizona Daily Star on Stanford’s basketball team:

“Try as you might, you can’t hate Stanford.

” . . . The Cardinal beats you up and beats you down, but it allows you to keep your dignity. It’s the pool hustler who cleans out his victim’s wallet and then gives him cab fare home.

” . . . Have you ever seen a Stanford player talk trash? The Cardinal’s inestimable freshman jump-shooter, Casey Jacobsen, said he didn’t go to hometown UCLA because he wouldn’t fit in at Egos R Us U.”

*

Trivia time: Who holds the Pacific 10 Conference women’s basketball record for most points in a game?

*

Special delivery: Adam Graves of the New York Rangers, who was recently given the NHL Foundation award, which recognizes a player who applies commitment, perseverance and teamwork to help the community, is known as hockey’s Mr. Nice Guy.

Once, teammates Mark Messier and Mike Richter saw a large package sitting by Graves’ locker.

“There was a big box that said ‘Adam Graves’ on it,” Richter said. “Mess walks by and says, ‘So that’s how Gravy does it. He gets a box of nice delivered every day.’ ”

*

Off the chart: Fox Sports News anchor Keith Olbermann on Dennis Rodman’s latest drunk-driving charge:

“Rodman’s blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit and halfway to being ruled an explosion risk.”

*

Bulking up: Gary Shelton in the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times:

“One thing that concerns me about bridge in the Olympics: the steroids.”

*

Closing in: Tom FitzGerald in the San Francisco Chronicle:

“The men’s basketball coaches at Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan were fired at the end of the season, and Steve Abney of San Francisco says:

“ ‘Central Michigan’s coach is suffering from what is described as Tic-Tac-Toe anxiety.’ ”

*

Who wouldn’t? Senior golfer-TV commentator Gary McCord, when asked recently who would be his ultimate foursome: “Catherine Zeta-Jones, and I would let the other two play through.”

*

Parking rip-off: Steve Rosenbloom in the Chicago Tribune:

“The cost to park outside Miami’s new American Airlines Arena? $25. And David Stern wonders why people aren’t showing up for his league.”

*

A real turnoff: Indiana Pacer Coach Larry Bird is against the NBA’s plan to put microphones on coaches--”I just don’t like that some of the things that are going to be said, going to a truck where some kid sitting there can pick and choose if it goes on the air or not”--but he has an idea about cameras in the locker room.

“I’ll just have all my players sit there naked,” Bird said, “and that won’t last very long.”

*

Looking back: On this day in 1957, Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics grabbed an NBA-record 49 rebounds against the Detroit Pistons. Wilt Chamberlain improved on the record with 55 in 1960.

*

Trivia answer: Cherie Nelson of USC, 50, against California on March 10, 1989.

*

And finally: Bill Bradley said it before Super Tuesday:

“I learned from failures. As a rookie with the New York Knicks, people spit at me, threw coins at me in the street. Sometimes we fail. We’re human.”