In the Interim, They Duck for Cover

Few interim basketball coaches--short-term replacements for someone who has been fired in midseason--are named to the head coaching position. Paul Silas of the Charlotte Hornets is one who was, but he was well aware of the pitfalls when he replaced Dave Cowens 15 games into the 1998-99 NBA season.

“You’re nothing but a lame duck and the players know it,” Silas said. “The chances of you keeping the job are almost zero.”

Former Clipper Coach Don Casey said being an interim coach “is like having a root canal.”

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They’re all tough: Being a veteran head coach isn’t always a bargain, either. After his Miami Heat had blown a 19-point second-half lead to Atlanta on Thursday, Pat Riley said, “Just when you think it can’t get any worse, it gets worse.”

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Trivia time: Which coach has won the most Rose Bowl games?

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Surfing the NFL: Syndicated columnist Norman Chad has his own views of pro football:

“Whether they start 0-2 or 2-0, the Cincinnati Bengals always finish 4-12.”

“Cleveland Browns’ fans can be divided into two groups--those who return their beer bottles for deposit and those who don’t.”

“I believe the NFL’s new ‘no beer after the third quarter’ rule will work only if there is also a rule that states, ‘Any bottle thrown must be thrown in the quarter in which it was purchased.”’

“If CBS’ Jerry Glanville spoke French, that would make two languages in which I wouldn’t understand him.”

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No Peekaboos? Olympic skier Picabo Street gives her skis names. She has her Earnies and her Arnolds, for Dale Earnhardt and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and her Olys for the two that won her Olympic medals.

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All he can do: Former Ottawa Senator favorite Alexei Yashin was booed every time he touched the puck Thursday night in his first game in Ottawa as a New York Islander against his former teammates. His reaction: “I can’t control what they think. What I can control is to give the best effort to my team, and that’s what I tried to do.”

It wasn’t enough. Ottawa won, 5-2.

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How about checkers? Just what the bulging Olympic Games schedule needs--another sport. China, host of the 2008 Summer Games, has petitioned the IOC to include the Chinese martial arts discipline of Wushu.

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Happy days: St. Louis Coach Mike Martz was the Rams’ offensive coordinator when the team obtained Marshall Faulk from the Indianapolis Colts. Martz’s reaction: “I [was so excited,] I hurt my back jumping out of my chair. We were high-fiving for about three days.”

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Trivia answer: Howard Jones and John McKay, both of USC, with five each.

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And finally: Cincinnati Enquirer columnist Paul Daugherty was not impressed with the deal that sent Red second baseman Pokey Reese to the Colorado Rockies--who then traded him to the Boston Red Sox, who chose not to sign him--for pitcher Luke Hudson.

“Wow, Luke Hudson. He went 7-12 last season, in double A. He’s 21-31 lifetime in the bus leagues.

“Without Reese’s silky glove, the Reds have a slowing Barry Larkin at shortstop and a slow Todd Walker at second. The ground crew should start growing the grass high now.”