Those TV Viewers Got Immaculata Reception

Memorable sports events aren’t always defined by fireworks and confetti. Sometimes it takes the passage of time to realize and appreciate what is historic.

So for those fans of women’s basketball who take the NCAA tournament and WNBA for granted on network and cable television, take a moment today and reflect.

On this day 30 years ago, the first women’s college basketball game was nationally televised. Immaculata (Pa.), the Tennessee and Connecticut of its era, a three-time national champion, defeated host Maryland, 80-48.

Mizlou Television, an independent network, sold the broadcast rights to 100 stations across the country.

One of the Immaculata players, Rene Muth, went on to have great success as a coach. Today, she’s better known as Rene Portland, coach at Penn State.

“We were thrilled to be a part of it, but I don’t think anything fazed us at the time,” Portland told Associated Press. “[Immaculata was] used to playing in front of sellout crowds, in big games in large arenas. It was really just another game.”

*

Trivia time: What do Wilt Chamberlain, David Thompson, George Gervin and Vernon Maxwell have in common?

*

Still a class act: It’s a good bet Rush Limbaugh was not sitting in a Philadelphia sports bar watching quarterback Donovan McNabb lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl berth.

The outspoken radio commentator is remembered there and elsewhere for a brief, ill-fated run as a football analyst that ended in October 2003 when he suggested McNabb was overrated by the media that wanted an African American to succeed at the position.

McNabb was in great position to gloat after the game but did not.

His restraint was applauded by Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Stephen A. Smith.

“McNabb never dreamed of a football novice like Limbaugh using him as political fodder, sullying his name in a quest to indict others,” Smith said. “And if McNabb wasn’t interested in addressing the impact of Limbaugh’s silly words, the likelihood is that McNabb wasn’t because there was no need to.”

*

Give ‘em misconducts: The NHL lockout continues to drag on, and few seem to care.

Don’t say that to Mark Chalifoux of Sports Fan Magazine.com, who is chafing at the negotiating ploys of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and union head Bob Goodenow.

“Gary Bettman and Bob Goodenow have been disgracing the game of hockey for too long,” Chalifoux said. “The fact that they cannot even begin to compromise and put aside their differences to do what is best for the game makes me sick to my very core.”

*

Trivia answer: They are the only NBA players to score 30 points or more in a quarter. Maxwell, the last to do it, accomplished the feat on this day in 1991 for Houston against Cleveland.

*

And finally: From Joe Biddle of the (Nashville) Tennessean: “Six South Carolina football players have been charged with stealing $18,000 worth of equipment from their team’s stadium. Guess that makes Steve Spurrier’s defense the early favorite to lead the SEC in take-aways.”