She Uses Teen Shoes for Ickey’s Moves

Linda Adams is a defensive lineman for the Cincinnati Sizzle of the National Women’s Football Assn.

At 51, she is also a grandmother of 11 and the oldest player in the league.

“I have to call my mother after every practice ‘cause she worries,” Adams told the Beaver County Times. “Mom’s 73 now, but she still worries.”

Adams, whose nickname is “Old School,” receives cleats and tips from her teenage grandsons. She also listens intently to her coach, former Bengal running back Ickey Woods, creator of the Ickey Shuffle end zone dance.

“It’s great to have Linda around,” Woods said. “She keeps everybody hyped up.”

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Trivia time: What team has made the most NBA lottery picks?

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Dr. Bill: New England Patriot Coach Bill Belichick is scheduled to receive an honorary doctorate from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., during commencement exercises today, according to the Hartford Courant.

Belichick graduated from Wesleyan in 1975. His daughter is scheduled to graduate today.

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Wardrobe check: Belichick’s game-day fashion sense, or lack of it, caught the eye of Baltimore Sun columnist Laura Vecsey after the NFL, citing its contract with Reebok, turned down a request by new San Francisco 49er Coach Mike Nolan to wear a coat and tie on the sideline.

“History -- at least the visual sort of history that emblazons images onto our sporting consciousness -- will never elevate Belichick to the same kind of lofty status as Lombardi or Landry. Those guys never strolled the sideline in a gray hoodie.

“The enduring image of Belichick will be of him looking like a schlub. The harder the rain fell on Belichick on those miserable winter Sundays at Foxboro, the lower to the ground he seemed to sink, as if the weight of all that water absorbed by his Reebok sweatshirt was going to render him immobile.

“He did not look like a genius, or a coach, as much as a street urchin without enough change for the bus.”

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Food for thought: According to the Boston Globe, more than 135,000 hot dogs, frankfurters and sausages will be served today during Eddie Andelman’s 16th Hot Dog Safari, a charity event in Massachusetts to raise money to further cystic fibrosis research.

Said Andelman of the hot dog: “It’s the basic food group of the sports fan.”

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Looking back: On May 22, 1977, Janet Guthrie became the first woman to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. Guthrie, 39, eventually started 26th in a 33-car field, but engine trouble ended her race after 27 laps.

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Trivia answer: The Clippers have made 17 lottery picks since the process began in 1985.

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And finally: The recent hearings on steroids and drug testing in Washington have convinced Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi that action must be taken.

“Personally, I’d like to see pro sports implement a drug-testing policy in Congress,” Bianchi wrote. “The way many of our politicians are aggressively overstepping their bounds and usurping our personal freedoms, I believe we are witnessing a classic case of legislative ‘roid rage.”