It’s Really the Gift That Keeps on Giving

What will recruiters think of next to entice star athletes to their school?

Colorado high school basketball star Ann Strother told the Denver Post some of her experiences while being recruited.

At Notre Dame: “There was a Notre Dame comforter on my [hotel] bed and they gave me a CD they made that had a game situation featuring me as a Notre Dame player. That was cool. There was also a whole bunch of candy.”

At Tennessee: “The whole team and the coaches met me wearing T-shirts with my baby picture on them. They gave me a jersey with my name on it and made me run through the tunnel with all the fireworks going off in the arena. And the blimp was flying around like the one at Nuggets’ games, and instead of dropping off a gift certificate, it dropped a national letter of intent for me to sign.”

From Georgia: “[Coach] Andy Landers brought a pink flamingo and planted it on our front lawn. He said that is what all the houses in the South have.”

Strother signed with Connecticut.

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Trivia time: Which is the only NFL team that played its home games in a domed stadium the season it won the Super Bowl?

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Tit for tat: Commenting on Randy Moss’ statement that he only plays when he feels like it, USA Today’s Larry Weisman suggests that Minnesota Viking owner Red McCombs should withhold his game check and tell his wide receiver:

“I only pay when I want to.”

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Full circle: Tennis great Boris Becker says he may reunite with his former wife, Barbara Feltus, after having an affair with singer Sabrina Setlur and fathering a child with Russian model Angela Ermakova.

“We’re happily divorced at the moment, but my motto is, ‘Never say never,”’ he told Stern magazine.

To which the Chicago Sun-Times’ Elliott Harris said: “Especially when it comes to women.”

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One is enough: Purdue football Coach Joe Tiller wasn’t fooled by Notre Dame’s 4-6 record before Saturday’s game.

“Notre Dame, to me, will always be the same,” he said. “When you say describe them with one word, it would be talent.”

Enough to beat Purdue, 24-18.

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Filling big feet: Shaquille O’Neal’s revelation that he is going to learn the duties of a peace officer caused the Seattle Times’ Dwight Perry to comment: “Sgt. Joe Friday made badge 714 famous. Officer Shaq is destined to be remembered for his custom-made boot size--22EEE.”

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A slam dunk: Police in Columbus, Ohio, had it easy when trying to catch thieves who stole the Ohio State mascot’s costume.

When investigating a stolen car, police found a man inside wearing a striped, scarlet-and-gray shirt with “BRUTUS” in block letters on the front.

That’s the mascot’s shirt.

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Trivia answer: St. Louis Rams, in 1999.

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And finally: When three-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong was asked at a panel discussion how his belief in God had helped him as a cancer patient, New York Times columnist Robert Lipsyte reported his answer:

“Everyone should believe in something, and I believed in surgery, chemotherapy and my doctors.”