Maybe the eighth time is the charm

There is always that heady rush of infatuation resulting in an unwise match, the highest of highs followed by looming and inevitable disaster ... and it always ends in tears.

Newly minted NHL Coach Mike Keenan of Calgary, and his symbolic twin, basketball’s Larry Brown, are nothing but predictable. So has Calgary General Manager Darryl Sutter learned nothing from disillusioned NHL brethren or, for that matter, ever listened closely to “Won’t Get Fooled Again?” Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. But only Brown can make Keenan look like a slacker.

Keenan has landed at his eighth NHL coaching stop, and his hiring last week led Victor Chi of the San Jose Mercury News to note: “News: Mike Keenan is hired to coach Calgary. Reaction: Time for Larry Brown to start working the phones again.” Not to worry. Brown was one step ahead of it, talking to Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee, saying: “I want to get back. I miss it terribly. I haven’t lost the passion to teach and coach.”

And, after all, he’s probably hearing the footsteps of Keenan catching up.

Trivia time

How many head coaching stops, in the pros and college ranks, has Brown made?

Crystal ball

Phil Mickelson, after shooting 77 on Friday at the U.S. Open, was asked at his news conference what he planned on doing for the next couple of hours.

“Watch the carnage on TV,” he said, laughing.

Someone asked whether he was rooting for carnage.

“I don’t have to root for it,” he said. “It’s going to happen.”

Rim of the world

Former NBA assistant Tom Newell -- son of famed big-man guru, Pete Newell -- carried out his own form of basketball science, putting together an exhibition game with baskets at 11 feet instead of the regulation 10.

Saturday’s game at the University of Washington, according to media reports, was erratic and sloppy early, but the players gradually adjusted.

“I can’t wait to get back to a 10-foot rim,” Adam Zahn told the Associated Press. “This showed me that I do rely on my athleticism a lot.”

Bada bling

Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, winner on Sunday at Indianapolis in the U.S. Grand Prix, had raved about his diamond-studded helmet in last month’s Monaco Grand Prix: “I’m blinged out. I got bling on my helmet, how cool is that?” Hamilton said to reporters.

Bling has already had a strong hold in the tennis world. Last summer at the U.S. Open, tennis writer Jerry Magee of the San Diego Union, taking note of Serena Williams’ Asian-influenced outfit, saying she was inspired by “the Bling Dynasty.”

Trivia answer

Nine in the pros and two in college, UCLA and Kansas.

And finally

Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo, on Keenan, to the Toronto Globe and Mail: “As long as he’s not coaching the Vancouver Canucks, it’s no problem for me.”

lisa.dillman@latimes.com