Cheap Seats

Nugget with rocks in his head

“I think one through 12 … we’ve got as much talent as anybody in the league.”

Speaking was Corey Alexander, back-up guard for the Denver Nuggets … yes, the 11-71-a-year-ago Nuggets.

That’s no joke

The fallout from the Eugene Robinson incident even caused difficulty for one Denver player. On “The Tonight Show” a few weeks ago, wide receiver Ed McCaffrey jokingly told host Jay Leno that his wife was upset because Robinson “only offered her $20 earlier in the week.” Lisa McCaffrey rose from her seat in the audience and flipped her husband a dirty bird of a different kind. “After the show, she told me `It’s sofa city, sweetheart,”’ McCaffrey said the day after spending the night on the couch.

Sign of the tines

One team’s scouting report on hefty Red Sox first baseman Bob Hamelin: “His best tool is his fork.”

Clipped reply

New Jersey Nets forward Jayson Williams was asked what the addition of Scott Burrell meant to the team.

Williams’ reply: “It means we have four guys with bald heads.”

Name this tune

There was a nasty meeting last week between the embattled International Olympic Committee and its biggest sponsors.

Participants insisted the tone was far different from that of similar meetings held since the bribery scandal broke in late November.

“They wanted `Kumbaya,’ but instead they got `Fire and Rain,”’ one person in the meeting said.

No bet left uncovered

Oddsmakers in Las Vegas reported a record betting spree during the Super Bowl. Not all the bets were conventional, however, such as Denver giving seven to win. One of the more unusual involved matching Phil Mickelson’s score in the final round of the Phoenix Open against yards receiving by Denver’s Ed McCaffrey.

Mickelson shot an 80, and McCaffrey finished with 72 yards - demonstrating that oddsmakers usually know how to figure the odds pretty closely.

Not average Gipper speech

Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press in an interview with Pistons standout Grant Hill:

Albom: “What’s the best pep talk you ever heard?”

Hill: “It’s probably one of Coach K’s (Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski). He had so many. I remember one time, before a game, he turned off all the lights. And he came in with candles - and he was like, `I’m just an old Polish guy looking for a team with heart.”’

The last word …

“It was a remarkable turn of events.”

- Penn coach Fran Dunphy after his team lost to Princeton 50-49 after leading 33-9 at the half.