She Blends Bouncing Babies, and Basketballs

Arizona State women’s basketball Coach Charli Turner Thorne is expecting her third child in January, less than a month after a road game against powerhouse Connecticut.

It won’t be the first time Turner Thorne has had a baby during the season.

It will be the third.

“People have to think I don’t know how this works,” Turner Thorne, 37, told the Arizona Republic. “It’s been kind of comical.”

When Turner Thorne’s first son, Conor, was born Feb. 9, 1999, she was on the bench for games three days before the birth and four days afterward.

Her second son, Liam, was born March 11, 2001 -- the same day Arizona State was selected to play in the NCAA tournament. Turner Thorne and her husband, Will, took the baby to the regional the next week.

Though her obstetrician will travel with her to some games this time, Turner Thorne said a decision on whether she will be able go to Connecticut for the Dec. 18 game depends on how her pregnancy -- unplanned but “a real blessing,” she said -- would progress.

Trivia time: What are the final two steps in the complicated formula for calculating a quarterback rating?

Tiger, Tiger: British Open champion Ben Curtis was a guest on David Letterman’s show Thursday night, and Letterman asked if he was intimidated by Tiger Woods’ presence.

Said Curtis: “A little bit. He’s got this aroma about him.”

A little later, before saying goodbye, Letterman had one more question: “What exactly does Tiger Woods smell like?”

Tricky: The headline on a news release from the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl made it sound as if the game might be history:

“No Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in 2003.”

The news actually was something the Peach Bowl is pleased about: The game, previously played on New Year’s Eve, will be played Jan. 2, 2004.

The Peach Bowl also advertises itself as the “nation’s most competitive bowl game.”

The average margin of victory was 4.8 points over the past 15 games before last season, when Maryland beat Tennessee, 30-3.

No deal: The Florida Marlins are willing to contribute $100 million toward a new downtown stadium if taxpayers pay the other $200 million or so it will take to build it.

Jeff Miller of the Miami Herald objects.

“There are roughly 1,000 projects more deserving of tax dollars than a new tank for Billy the Marlin.... One of the problems with professional sports franchises is their inherent sense of self-importance. It’s as if South Florida, minus the Marlins, suddenly would shrink in size and relevance to Yeehaw Junction.

“Nope, it doesn’t work that way.”

Trivia answer: Divide by six and multiply by 100.

And finally: Randy Galloway of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram isn’t sure Bill Parcells understands Dallas Cowboy fans yet.

Parcells said recently he doesn’t deal in expectations, “I deal in reality.”

Galloway wrote: “Sorry, Big Bill, but this is the wrong team to be talking about such a foreign concept. Maybe in New York, maybe in Boston....

“But around here? Nada.”