THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 23, 1995 TAG: 9506230645
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB MOLINARO
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
Easy does it: Call me a worrywart, but if I were an agent representing a basketball player who was about to be drafted and paid in the neighborhood of $70 million, I would advise my client to stay clear of summertime playground games where he risks injury going up against inferior talent. So what, I wonder, is Joe Smith doing competing in the Hampton Roads Pro-Am League?
Enough, already: The Baltimore Orioles recently denied a request by Kato Kaelin for complimentary tickets and a pass allowing him access to players. Can't you just see America's Guest asking Cal Ripken if he can spend the night on his couch?
A matter of opinion: The First Amendment allows Sports Illustrated to call Roy Jones Jr. the best boxer pound for pound, but Sweetpea Whitaker fans don't have to buy it.
For what it's worth: Dodger pitching phenom Hideo Nomo's first name means ``Hero'' in Japanese.
Right man, wrong time: Anybody can see why the New York Knicks would want Chuck Daly, but why would the 65-year-old Daly want the aggravation that comes with working in New York?
Mail call: Virginia Beach reader Dallas Stamper, weary from the mere mention of ESPN's Extreme Games, suggests a competition for the older set called the ``Extremely Tired Games.''
Money matters: Los Angeles Lakers announcer Chick Hearn, on Pat Riley's decision to quit the Knicks: ``He used to borrow clothes from me to wear. Now he's turning down $3 million a year.''
Golden moment: Next season, the NFL is commemorating the 50th year in which blacks have had an impact on pro football. The NFL players union anticipates the league will be 72 percent black at the start of the 1995 season.
True lies: American/French tennis star Mary Pierce has asked a court in France to ban publication of her autobiography on the grounds that she objects to some of the things she has written about herself. This recalls the time Joe Theismann claimed he was misquoted in his autobiography.
Look who's talking: Jose Canseco calling fans of the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox ``Neanderthals,'' falls under the category of it-takes-one-to-know-one.
Flip flop: Remember when Mark McGwire played in Canseco's shadow?
Power to spare: In Cleveland, the long ball is contagious. Jim Thome, who bats seventh or eighth in the Indians' order, has 15 home runs.
Greed: The player revolt over the NBA's new contract is being led by agents who will lose money when a rookie salary cap goes into effect. The welfare of the league is the last thing on their minds.
Tracking a star: Michael Johnson, winner of the 200- and 400-meter sprints at the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships, has replaced Carl Lewis as the reigning track celebrity in places where the sport is a big deal. Not in the United States in other words.
Warning signs: After Proposition 48 came into play for high school athletes, the NCAA reported an improvement in classroom and SAT performances. But this year, grades and scores fell off. One way to guarantee that this discouraging trend continues is to make partial and non-qualifiers eligible for intercollegiate sports, a proposal that is finding more favor among the conferences.
Stormin' Norman: So what if he didn't win another major. If every golfer attacked a course the way Greg Norman does, golf on TV might be more than a nap aid. by CNB