Vick Is One Quarterback That’s Built for Speed

Atlanta Falcon Coach Dan Reeves, commenting on rookie quarterback Michael Vick to Frank Luksa of the Dallas Morning News:

“He has unbelievable speed. We lined him up against our fastest receiver and Michael smoked him. He’s like a greased pig. You can’t hem him in. He’ll run between your legs or over you.

“There’s never been a quarterback run 4.36 [seconds] on an artificial grass surface. He’ll be the fastest guy on the field, which he was lots of time in college.”

There’s no doubt that Vick is fast, but the 4.36 time is definitely a stretch.

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Trivia time: What other Virginia Tech player besides Vick was a No. 1 overall selection in the NFL draft?

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Tiger’s impact: Hale Irwin, a three-time U.S. Open winner, assessing Tiger Woods’ strengths to Dave Anderson of the New York Times:

“Tiger has that God-given ability of strength and finesse, but his mind-set is virtually like Jack Nicklaus’ was. He’s so determined, he strikes fear into other golfers. In the age of hype, this is more amazing.”

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Role model: Ray Allen of the Milwaukee Bucks, on the Philadelphia environment: “I can remember playing here and having a kid sitting courtside yelling obscenities. Just a little kid, 12 or 13 years old, sitting under the basket. . . .

“Then there’s a grown-up sitting next to him laughing. Probably telling him what to say, writing down words on little pieces of paper and saying, ‘Here, try this one.’ ”

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Four short of a team: Baltimore Oriole outfielder Melvin Mora’s wife, Gisel, is pregnant with quintuplets. The likelihood of “spontaneous” quintuplets--born without the aid of fertility drugs--is one in 40 to 50 million births.

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Swept away: Charles Barkley, suggesting that the San Antonio Spurs were fortunate to be playing games 3 and 4 of their Western Conference final series in L.A.:

“They got a really big airport and you can get to some of those island destinations really quick out there.”

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Playoff exit: Bud Geracie in the San Jose Mercury News: “Vince Carter is living the life of a college student, graduate one day, have the rest of the summer off.”

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Looking back: On this day one year ago, Dutch swimmer Inge de Bruijn set her third world record in three days, adding the 100-meter freestyle mark to the 50 and 100 butterfly marks at the Sheffield Super Grand Prix.

De Bruijn became the first swimmer to finish under 54.00 in the 100 freestyle at 53.80 seconds.

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Trivia answer: Defensive end Bruce Smith, chosen by the Buffalo Bills in 1985.

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And finally: Peter Vecsey in the New York Post: “I have only one question respecting the luxurious Lakers. Why is Phil Jackson playing his starters this late in the [Friday] blowout?

“Far be it for me to infer the Spurs’ performance has been criminal, but they escaped Staples Center Friday in a white Ford Bronco.”