Enberg Has Plenty of Material to Set Stage
Dick Enberg always vowed that if he ever wrote a book, Al McGuire would get a chapter. And McGuire did get a chapter in the recent book Enberg wrote with Jim Perry.
Enberg also has written a one-man play about his former broadcast partner, who coached Marquette to a national basketball championship in 1977. With actor and Milwaukee resident Cotter Smith portraying McGuire, the play makes its debut Saturday night at Marquette’s Helfaer Theater, with five additional performances scheduled.
One thing that made McGuire, who died in 2001, worth so much attention was his street wisdom.
For example, here’s one piece of vintage McGuire from Enberg’s script: “Despite what your friends might think, ‘no’ is a good answer. Everyone thinks ‘no’ is a bad answer. ‘Maybe’ is the bad answer. ‘Yes’ is the best answer, the one we all want. But ‘no’ at least ends the conversation.”
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Trivia time: McGuire’s 1977 Marquette team, led by Butch Lee and Bo Ellis, defeated North Carolina in the NCAA championship game. What other North Carolina school, featuring Cedric “Cornbread” Maxwell, did Marquette defeat in the Final Four that year?
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Winning attitude: Another passage from Enberg’s play has McGuire saying, “I like lobster, if the other guy is paying. I remember one time they bring me my lobster and it only has one claw. ‘What happened to the missing claw?’ I asked the waitress, who says, ‘Sometimes they get in a fight in the holding tank, and this one was on the losing end of the battle.’
“I told her, ‘Take this one back and bring me the winner.’ ”
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Faulty memory: Remembering names was not a McGuire strong suit. Years ago, when he met a Times sportswriter, he said, “Your boss is one of my best friends in the whole world.” After a pause, he added, “What’s his name again?”
He was referring to Sports Editor Bill Dwyre.
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Stuck in low gear: TNT commentator Doug Collins, during the Detroit-Miami playoff series, said, “The essence of the game is deception, changing speeds. When you go the same speed all the time everybody adjusts. It’s like a pitcher in baseball.”
Said partner Steve Kerr: “I used to always feel that when I went from really slow to slow, then I had the defense on its heels.”
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Looking back: On this day in 1941, Whirlaway, ridden by Eddie Arcaro, won the Belmont Stakes to become the fifth horse to win the Triple Crown.
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Trivia answer: North Carolina Charlotte.
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And finally: KFWB’s Bret Lewis, while taking some time off to recover from a case of laryngitis, sent along this e-mail: “I know none of us want to live in Green Bay, Wis. We love Southern California weather. But as for home prices, check this out: Packer quarterback Brett Favre has sold his 7,800-square-foot home in a Green Bay cul-de-sac. It has five bedrooms, five full bathrooms and a racquetball court. It sold for $895,000. In L.A., that gets you a loft in Pomona.”
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Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.