What You See Not Always What You Get

Scott Ostler, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, has a different take on Bob Knight:

“If I had a son who was being recruited to play college ball, and he wanted to play for Knight, would I try to stop him? I don’t think so.

“I would rather see my son bullied into playing better and getting an education than be bullied into cheating in scholastics, which happens at too many schools where the coach is a charming and warm dude. . . .

“Far more college basketball players have been cheated and exploited by the system than have been ruined by Bobby Knight’s lunacy.”

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Trivia time: When did USC make its first appearance in the men’s NCAA basketball tournament?

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Yankee pride: If you’re a New York Yankee hater, be advised not to read the following:

Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post, visiting the Yankees and new pitcher Mike Mussina in spring training, writes:

“Inside, you bump into Yogi Berra, Reggie Jackson, Don Mattingly, Goose Gossage, Graig Nettles and so many other ex-all stars--all fit and in Yankee uniforms--that you’d think a theme park has come to life.

“ ‘Something must be right about this team that these guys want to include themselves in it this far down the road,’ Mussina said. ‘I grew up watching those players on TV. They don’t have to be here. They want to be here.’ ”

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Comeback stalled: Miami Heat Coach Pat Riley on the condition of Alonzo Mourning in practices: “He looks pretty good for three or four minutes, and then, for 10 or 15, he looks like a guy who hasn’t played basketball in a year.”

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A cut-up at heart: Tom FitzGerald in the San Francisco Chronicle: “Reading about Toni Gay, the meat-cleaver- wielding coach of the Rockford (Ill.) junior high school girls’ volleyball team, Glenn Smith of Walnut Creek asks:

“ ‘Just curious, but what sort of cutlery is required to coach on the high school level at Rockford?’ ”

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Early speed: Ricky Henderson, trying to hook on with a major league team, talked about his speed in an interview with Dan LeBatard of the Miami Herald:

“When I was in those fastest-man competitions, those wide receivers would always chase me down, but I always had them over the first eight, 10 yards. I’ll beat Carl Lewis over 10 yards.”

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Why not? Ron Rapoport in the Chicago Sun-Times: “An idea that seemed silly the first time it was proposed--letting every Division I team into the tournament-- makes more sense all the time.

“Just expand the field to 256 teams, add two more games and abolish the selection committee. I have this vision of three games going on simultaneously on courts set up side by side in the Superdome.”

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It’s a zoo: Seattle Mariner outfielder Mike Cameron, commenting on more than 90 Japanese reporters and cameramen following fellow outfielder Ichiro Suzuki just to watch him stretch in training camp: “They watch every single move he makes. I don’t know if I could handle that.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1974, UCLA defeated Dayton, 111-100, in three overtimes in a first-round NCAA tournament game at Tucson. The Bruins lost to North Carolina State, 80-77, in two overtimes in a national semifinal game.

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Trivia answer: 1940. In a field of eight teams, USC defeated Colorado, 38-32, in the first round and lost to Kansas, 43-42, in a national semifinal game.

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And finally: Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Tribune, visiting new pitcher David Wells at the Chicago White Sox training camp:

“The bushy goatee might have some menace to it, and the shaved head looks as if it was meant to sit atop a body meant to sit atop a Harley. The two tattoos on his right arm are etchings of two of his children as babies. He doesn’t have to bore anyone with snapshots. He can just roll up his sleeve.”