Cheap Seats
Just needs a little practice
Latrell Sprewell has been offered a contract to play in the United States Basketball League.
“He may be a little rusty,” humorist Alan Ray said. “He hasn’t touched a coach in weeks.”
Multi-talented man
From The Good Doctor in Inside Sports magazine:
Question: “Charles Barkley tossed a dude through a window at a bar. What do you think Barkley will do next?”
Answer: “Barkley is a cinch to win the Fan Throw portion of the NBA All-Star weekend.”
And then there was one
When the time expired in Harrison’s 84-82 win over Willow Creek, Zach McClean was the only Willow Creek player on the court in a Montana high school game.
When the fourth quarter started, Willow Creek trailed 59-53 and had just five eligible players. Three had already fouled out and others who had played in a junior varsity game had exhausted their four quarters of eligibility.
One by one the remaining Broncs fouled out, leaving only McClean on the court in the final 29 seconds.
“They just kept coming and coming and fouling and fouling,” said Harrison coach Doug Richards. “Every time I’d look up they’d be down only five or six points. It was unbelievable.”
A Harrison player hit a free throw to give his team an 84-79 lead, but missed the second shot. McClean outhustled five opponents, including three over 6 feet tall, for the rebound. He fought through a triple-team to hit a 3-pointer with 6 seconds left.
The 5-8 sophomore, who finished with 33 points, had four fouls and didn’t send his opponents to the free-throw line again. Harrison ran out the clock.
“Zach, … the whole team showed the most unbelievable heart and guts,” Richards said. “Every time I looked at the clock I asked myself, ‘Could this really be happening?”’
What’s the achievement?
Los Angeles Times columnist Jim Murray received a Lifetime Achievement Award recently from the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Association, and when he spoke at the event at Lakeside Country Club, he noted that he had spent much time there over the years, both playing golf and also playing the 19th hole.
“I know this place well,” Murray said. “My liver is over there in the other room.”
Where the kelp hits the fan
Tim Keown of the San Francisco Chronicle, writing during the rain-plagued AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am: “The storm was mesmerizing: 12-cylinder winds, horizontal rain and an awesome surf. If you stood there long enough (I did - part of my job) you could watch strands of kelp catapult out of the waves and onto the golf course.
“For entertainment value, it beat the hell out of a birdie putt.”
The last word …
“It’s so frustrating to finish second in a race, and then pack up and go home when someone else is celebrating. It’s so special to finally win here. I feel like I have that monkey off my back. Then I shot him.”
- Tony Stewart, who finished second last year at Disney World Speedway and won the IRL race this season
, DataTimes