The Cheap Seats
Montgomery would have been better?
The NCAA recently approved the bid of Mobile, Ala., to host a bowl game this December, and organizers decided to call it the Mobile Alabama Bowl.
The Mobile Register invited readers to comment, and of 275 who phoned in, not one approved of the name.
Toilet Bowl got a couple of votes.
Critics, we’ve got critics
Bob Ryan, writing in the Boston Globe: “I don’t know who the best quarterback of all-time was, but I don’t get the full-fledged Joe Montana adulation, when it was quite clear he was a `system’ quarterback and neither a Dan Marino pure passer nor a John Elway athlete.
“Out of context, there are plenty of guys I’d take over Montana.”
Montana led the 49ers to four Super Bowl victories and holds six Super Bowl passing records. He is the second-highest rated passer of all-time - behind Steve Young.
He could scramble and throw accurately on the run. But, as Ryan says, that’s all due to the “system.”
Yeah, and all Barry Sanders does is run.
Model quarterback, model son
Flowers, chocolate, jewelry … laser eye surgery.
Just a few typical Mother’s Day gifts. No joke.
New England Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe made it an extra special Mother’s Day this year, paying for laser eye surgery for his mother, Barbara.
“In addition to being a great mother, she’s always been a great friend,” the former Washington State University star said.
Pick ‘n’ rolls ‘n’ doughnuts
Milwaukee’s George Karl says he got the idea of hiring friends Rick Majerus and Del Harris to coach for the playoffs from Don Nelson, who once brought in Karl in the same capacity:
“What Nellie used to do is bring me or Del in and we kind of played the guy he’s working against,” Karl said. “ `What would you do in this situation? How are you going to cover our pick and rolls?’ I think Del will give us more preparation on how they’re going to coach against us.”
Karl says Majerus, a Milwaukee native, has already made a big contribution by showing him a great place for cheesecake.
Tennis with not just anyone
Actor Dustin Hoffman, 61, has a passion for tennis and has a court in the backyard of his home in Brentwood, Calif.
“For me, it’s all about getting on the court with good players,” he told Tennis magazine. “When I hit with Jimmy Connors for 45 minutes, he was breathing rapidly. I love the fact that I can hit with anybody, and it won’t be a waste of their time.”
The last word …
“I’m really tired. I’m not used to playing all week and making the finals.”
- Xavier Malisse, at the Citrix tennis championships, where he played in just the second final of his career