Morning briefing

No more ‘Show me the money’?

In his “38 Pitches” blog, Curt Schilling delivered a high, hard one to sports agents.

Opining about Alex Rodriguez negotiating on his own with the New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox right-hander wrote, “I have always felt agents have a place, but I also think that at some point in your career an agent becomes baggage.”

Schilling tempered those remarks by adding that he knew some agents were “very good, honest and trustworthy people” but no, he didn’t name any. He also didn’t mention that he, too, has been negotiating his own contracts in recent years.

The main concern for a player in negotiations, Schilling wrote, “is that there are many, if not most, major league teams who would barter a player into an embarrassing contract without an agent being present.”

And, he might have added, there’s not a player alive who would give money back to a team that overpaid.

Trivia time

Boston Celtics star Bill Russell won 11 NBA championships as a player. Can you name the player with the second-highest number of championship rings?

Hint: It’s not Robert Horry; it just seems like it.

Time to pony up

First off, you should know that contributions are not tax-deductible.

That understood . . . a group of Texas Tech alumni has set up a fund to help Red Raiders football Coach Mike Leach pay the $10,000 fine he owes the Big 12 Conference for comments about the officiating after his team’s Nov. 10 loss to Texas.

Leach, you might recall, pointedly suggested that the referee from Austin, Texas, who worked that game might have favored the Longhorns.

The “I Like Mike” campaign was opened Friday at a bank in Lubbock.

On Saturday, the Red Raiders did their part in assuring many fans did, indeed, like Mike. They upset then-No. 3 Oklahoma, 34-27.

Carr noise

Some news reports said Lloyd Carr was greeted by a standing ovation from Michigan football players Sunday at the start of a meeting at which he told them he was stepping down as their coach.

That was partially true.

Actually, the first time Carr walked in he was met by silence.

“What, did somebody die?” Carr asked his players. “We’re going to try this again.”

He then walked out and reentered to rousing cheers.

A cynic might suggest that critics anticipating his news -- and Carr had many -- might have stood to applaud the first time.

Used Carr

Say what you want about Carr as a coach -- yes, he was 1-6 in his final games against rival Ohio State -- but what he did for his university wasn’t limited to wins and losses on the field.

Carr raised more than $1.5 million for the Carr Cancer Fund and $550,000 for Mott Children’s Hospital, plus he personally endowed a full women’s athletic scholarship.

He also will leave having led Michigan to a bowl game in each of his 13 seasons, and with five Big Ten Conference championships and a national title.

Green machine

The horse is named The Green Monkey, but he’s been a Green Turkey.

A $16-million purchase last year as a 2-year-old, The Green Monkey is scheduled to make his third career start Wednesday at Hollywood Park.

So far, he’s 0 for 2 and has earned $7,800, which must be more than a little disappointing for the ownership group that paid a record price for him.

There is, however, one extremely big winner in this story: For original owner Dean De Renzo, The Green Monkey was a green -- as in money-making -- machine. De Renzo bought the horse as a yearling for $425,000 and a year later turned a tidy profit.

Stat’s incredible

The number of Nextel Cup races won by drivers born in North Carolina this season was . . . zero.

That’s the first time no driver from the state won a race in the 59-year history of the NASCAR series, according to FoxSports. com.

Trivia answer

Sam Jones with 10. A shooting guard for the Celtics during the Russell era, Jones averaged 17.7 points per game during his 12-year career and was known for his clutch shooting and his long-range bank shot -- think Tim Duncan from 20 feet.

Among active NBA players, Horry leads with seven championships -- two with Houston, three as a Laker and two with San Antonio.

And finally

Twenty Mississippi football players have been put on indefinite probation because they twice stole items from hotels.

Televisions and fluffy robes?

Close.

Radios and pillows.

Credit those players for at least one thing: logic.

Pillows to sleep and clock radios for the wake-up calls.

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mike.hiserman@latimes.com