He’ll Find Earning Trumps Learning

Skip Bayless of the San Jose Mercury News is skeptical of the Golden State Warriors’ choice of sometimes-smug college coach Mike Montgomery to replace the fired Eric Musselman.

“I was mostly amazed by how little the suddenly ex-Stanford coach seems to know about what he has gotten himself into,” Bayless wrote.

“But Montgomery made his nearly impossible job even tougher with what came off around the league as a naively condescending attitude toward NBA coaching.

“Montgomery said: ‘I’ve got to believe there are a lot of players in the NBA that want to learn.’ And: ‘I’m just not convinced this can’t be done the right way.’ ”

More Bayless: “Montgomery is finally going to teach an NBA team some textbook fundamentals, some discipline, some teamwork -- the ‘right way’ ... now Professor Montgomery will take them to grad school.

“This is the problem with college coaches: They’re exalted rulers of high-walled kingdoms. They think they know it all. College basketball is a coach’s game. But you win in the NBA with stars, and coaches who can handle them. That includes teaching and motivating them.”

Just ask such failed college-turned-NBA coaches as Jerry Tarkanian, Lon Kruger and John Calipari.

Trivia time: Where did Montgomery play college basketball?

Looking back: On this date in 1965, Muhammad Ali knocked out Sonny Liston one minute into the first round of the rematch for Ali’s heavyweight title. It was listed as the fastest knockout in a heavyweight title bout. Liston went down on a short right-hand punch by Ali.

Paging George Best: Remember the Aztecs? The logo for L.A.’s entry in the old North American Soccer League is this week’s featured item at classicsportslogos.com, where consumers can purchase the authentic logos of defunct teams from the 1950s through the 1980s in the form of T-shirts. Also available on the site: the L.A. Express. Isn’t Steve Young still being paid by the U.S. Football League club?

That’s the truth: The Washington Times’ Dan Daly finds a silver lining in Roy Jones Jr.’s getting knocked out by Antonio Tarver this month. “[Jones] might have lost his light-heavyweight title,” Daly wrote, “but he’s still, pound for pound, the greatest boxer in U.S. Basketball League history.”

Looking back II: On this date in 1978, the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup for the third consecutive year by defeating the Boston Bruins in Game 6 of the finals, 4-1.

Trivia answer: Montgomery played 30 games over two seasons -- 1965-66 and 1967-68 -- at Long Beach State, where he averaged 8.4 points and 1.8 rebounds as a guard.

And finally: With Sammy Sosa having put himself on the disabled list with back spasms suffered after a sneezing attack, Angel Manager Mike Scioscia was asked by CBS Sportsline’s Scott Miller whether he had ever been injured while sneezing.

“No, but I’ve sneezed and put some other people on the DL,” Scioscia said. “With this nose, are you kidding me?”