Cheap Seats

Pretty raw

If you knew sushi like Kristin Brown knows sushi, you’d be happy to get out of Pittsburgh, too.

The wife of Chad Brown was critical of Pittsburgh’s dining choices after the All-Pro linebacker left the Steelers to sign a $24 million contract with Seattle.

Kristin Brown was quoted by newspapers in Seattle and Pittsburgh as saying: “We weren’t happy with the city of Pittsburgh. We are not East Coast people. We are big food connoisseurs and Seattle has great food, restaurants and sushi. In Pittsburgh, all you can get are steak and potatoes, so I had to cook all the time.”

Wait - the Kingdome concessionaires are constantly being written up for health violations, but hubby’s signing with the Seahawks because of the food?

To go with his size 22 nose

A month ago, Allen Joseph was promised a pair of Shaquille O’Neal’s size 22 basketball shoes. He’s still waiting.

Joseph, a 6-foot-8 high school player in Brampton, Ontario, has had trouble finding an adequate pair of basketball shoes in Canada. He had been wearing a worn-out pair that caused him to slip and slide on the court, but recently, athletic apparel manufacturer Reebok sent Joseph a pair of size 22 sneakers to use until O’Neal’s shoes arrived.

“I made a few calls to Shaq’s agent last week to ask why Allen had not received them yet,” said Dario Pretto, Joseph’s coach at Notre Dame Catholic High School.

Pretto said an official from O’Neal’s agency in Los Angeles said they were having trouble finding a pair of O’Neal’s shoes.

“Just look in his locker for a pair,” Pretto said. “If they don’t want to send Allen the shoes, that’s fine. But it would be nice if he could get them.”

Perhaps this is just a marketing gimmick for Shaq’s new shoe - the Renege.

Code red

Maryland retired the jersey of senior Keith “The Truth” Booth Saturday when it played North Carolina. Best sign of the year, seen in Cole Field House: “You can’t handle The Truth!”

Warning, Will Robinson - danger, danger!

A robot developed by Japanese electronics giant Toshiba Corp. can play volleyball - at least well enough to hit a ball back six times to a human player.

The 4-foot-7 robot, called Tomorrow, has two moving cameras for eyes and two arms that respond to human movement. It has no legs and is suspended from the ceiling.

The robot also recognizes human faces, shakes hands and picks up balls - by a specific color - if told to do so.

But in a game of volleyball, “it doesn’t measure up to human skills,” Toshiba spokesman Makoto Yasuda acknowledged.

Adaptations of the robot may be used at manufacturing plants, while future models may be able to help in caring for sick people.

Big deal. There’s already a 7-foot-7 robot in the NBA named Shawn Bradley.

The last word …

“What good is Ebonics going to do when you walk into the offices of IBM and try to get a job? It’s like some of us have the idea that it’s some kind of selling out to become educated. We have to stop this nonsense.”

- Charles Barkley

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo