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Puck-er up
The semipro hockey team in Macon, Ga., drew laughs last week when it chose “Whoopee” as it’s new nickname. But Macon Whoopee management had an untimely case of stage fright when it came time to conceive a team logo. Instead of capitalizing on its suggestive moniker, Whoopee brass adopted a fig leaf.
A fig leaf? It was enough to give Macon Telegraph columnist Ed Grisamore a headache.
“I don’t believe Doris Day had leaves in mind when she recorded ‘Makin’ Whoopee’ in the 1950s,” Grisamore wrote. “Mr. Noah Webster, a man I trust on a daily basis, defines whoopee as ‘an exclamation to express great enjoyment.’ I’ll try to remember that the next time I’m raking leaves in the yard.”
Never let them see you bet
John Thompson never made any secret of his passion for playing slot machines. Now the Georgetown basketball coach wants to cash in by operating some at the Las Vegas airport with local casino owner Michael Gaughan, whose son just happens to be a senior walk-on for the Hoyas.
Thompson applied last year for a state gaming license to become a partner in the company that operates a string of 1,000 slots at McCarran International Airport. Regulators have yet to rule on Thompson’s application.
Thompson’s future in gaming may hinge on his getting out of the game. Both the president of Georgetown and the NCAA said are opposed to the coach having any interest in a gaming concern.
An airport official said Gaughan’s contract calls for the airport to get about 80 percent of the revenues from winnings - about $20 million last year.
Gaughan said Thompson plays only slots and never goes near the casino’s sports book. “John just loves to play slots,” he said. “I’ve got 1,000 little old ladies out there who know him by his first name. They talk slot talk, which one’s ready to hit, that kind of thing. He’s an entirely different person here.”
So he’s considerate, compassionate and accommodating?
Nah, money hasn’t changed him
“One million bucks ain’t what it used to be,” reports Newsday’s Shaun Powell. “That’s the money Miami Heat rookie Kurt Thomas is making this season.
“But when Thomas returned to his hometown of Dallas when the Heat visited the Mavericks, Thomas would not supply tickets to all of the estimated 150 friends and relatives who attended the game.”
According to Powell, Thomas told Miami reporters, “They had all year to prepare for the game. They could put $1 or 50 cents aside to save up and buy a ticket. They have jobs too. This is my first job. I want to enjoy some of the money I’m making.”
O, Canada
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf has been booed and mocked for his statements about the U.S. flag and national anthem, and the Denver Nuggets guard may not stand for it much longer.
“I want to come and live here,” Abdul-Rauf said Monday in Toronto, where the Nuggets played the Raptors. “I know a lot of people here. It’s so diverse. There’s a large Muslim community and it seems everybody minds their own business to an extent.”
The last word …
“My only desire now is to get drunk; I’ve lost all my skills as a player.”
- Russian tennis player Alexander Volkov, after Tuesday’s loss to Mikael Tillstrom in St. Petersburg Open
, DataTimes