THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 14, 1996 TAG: 9606140795
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB MOLINARO
LENGTH: 56 lines
We hardly knew ye: If all had gone according to Lonie Glieberman - and what did? - the Hampton Roads Pirates would be in training camp right about now. Instead, the Canadian Football League is looking at a failed experiment, with not a single American team still standing. Some of us aren't surprised.
Not-so-real estate: Office mate and name-game guru Robin Brinkley points out that Tiger Woods sounds like a housing development.
He's been there: Sonics coach George Karl accusing Dennis Rodman of ``flopping'' to draw fouls should amuse anyone from around here who remembers how Karl, as a North Carolina Tar Heel, would infuritate opponents by falling on his backside at the slightest hint of contact, hoping to draw a charge.
Marquee material: If nothing else, the Women's Professional Fastpitch softball league serves up four memorable names: Amy Windmiller, Tiff Tootle, Debbie Doom and Dorsey Steamer.
Up and out: Included among the eight ``heroes of public housing'' honored the other day by Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Henry Cisneros were Sweetpea Whitaker, who grew up in Norfolk's Young Park project, and Alonzo Mourning, a product of public housing in Chesapeake.
Keeping count: Four years ago, six basketball players surrendered college eligibility to enter the pro draft; this year, 41 have taken that route.
Another hit: John Calipari's defection to the New Jersey Nets is potentially worse for the long-range visibility of the college game than any five undergrads going pro.
Futurewatch: Sure, Rick Pitino loves his old Kentucky home . . . until the Boston Celtics come calling in a year or two. The Celtics job is what he wants most.
Eye chart: Headline writers won't like this, but Zydrunas Ilgauskas, a 7-foot-3, 260-pound Lithuanian center, is expected to be among the first 12 players chosen in the upcoming NBA draft.
The latest line: Comparing Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury, the two best guards in the draft, Boston Celtics senior citizen Red Auerbach says, ``Iverson. It's not even close. This guy is a born leader.''
Drawing a crowd: Bill Walton's off-the-wall commentary during the NBA Finals is like Dennis Rodman's hair; it attracts attention, but for all the wrong reasons.
Not a great show: The basketball between the Seattles and Chicagos is hard-fought, tenacious, even contentious. But with all the hand-to-hand combat going on, we aren't seeing the players at their best.
Useless Olympic note of week: Women's boxing was held as a demonstration sport at the 1904 Games in St. Louis.
Could be right: From atop his Miami Dolphin soapbox, Jimmy Johnson proclaims: ``I've heard people say this country's young people are getting soft. No, they're not. The people making demands are getting soft.''
Dumb: Maine basketball star Cindy Blodgett had to give up her participation in Olympic Torch carrying ceremonies in Bennington, Vt., sponsored by Coca-Cola, because it would have been in violation of NCAA regulations against endorsing a product. On the other hand, the NCAA sees nothing at all wrong with a basketball team (and its coach) endorsing a particular brand of sneakers everytime it takes the court. by CNB