They’re Resigned to This Sort of Coverage

Steve Spurrier is still responsible for big numbers, even after resigning as Florida’s coach. Mike Thomas of the Orlando Sentinel reports at www.Poynter.org that the paper ran 17 pictures of Spurrier, eight in color.

Also: “We had stories on why Steve quit, who will replace him, where Steve may go, what Steve’s players think of Steve going. ... We had columns on the reason Steve is going, the feud between Steve and the ‘Noles [Florida State] and the post-Steve mood in Gainesville.

“We ran Steve’s resignation letter, a list of Steve’s 18 career highlights, a recap of each Steve season and a chart listing every quarterback Steve coached....

“As for you who gripe about the excesses of college football coverage, that’s life in Florida, love it or leave it.”

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Trivia time: Which player holds the record for points scored against USC in a men’s basketball game?

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The quiet commander: Carolina Panther defensive tackle Brentson Buckner on the firing of Coach George Seifert: “How are you going to fight for him when you don’t even know if he has any fight in him?”

Comment from Tom FitzGerald of the San Francisco Chronicle: “Good thing Buckner never played for Tom Landry.”

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Whoa! Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News writes that if the Sacramento Kings can wrest the home-court advantage from the Lakers in the playoffs, “they’re the best bet to end the dynasty.”

The Lakers have won back-to-back NBA championships after not winning a title since 1988. That’s a dynasty?

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Tick, tick: Jerry Colangelo, owner of the Phoenix Suns, says the team has underachieved this season.

“I want to believe this team is better than what it’s shown,” he said. “I’m not pointing fingers at anyone. It’s way too early to throw grenades in the locker room or grenades at the team or coaching staff.”

Yet, with Phoenix struggling to stay over .500 and former Sun Jason Kidd giving the New Jersey Nets a spark, you get the feeling Colangelo’s finger is on the pin.

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They charged admission? Gary Shelton of the St. Petersburg Times on the meaningless regular-season finale last Sunday between Philadelphia and Tampa Bay, teams that will meet again Saturday in a meaningful first-round playoff game:

“This was one of the silliest exercises in the history of the NFL. It was this team, wrapping its stars in bubble wrap, and that team wrapping its stars in Styrofoam. It was the Don’t Hurt Me Bowl, a game in which you could throw the incentive clauses right out.”

* Boring too: Rose Bowl headline in the Kansas City Star: “Creamed Corn.”

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Trivia answer: Gary Payton of Oregon State, 58, in 1990.

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And finally: Buffalo Bill owner Ralph Wilson’s eyesight has been deteriorating. He told the Boston Globe his doctor had been advising him to have cataract surgery, but Wilson kept putting it off.

During a 35-0 loss to the San Francisco 49ers last month, he said the players were “all like blurs. The next day I called the doctor and told him I wanted the operation. He said, ‘Let’s put it off until the year is over. The way your team is going, it’s a good thing you can’t see them play.’”

Mal Florence