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Meet your feet
Some of the flashiest dunkers in basketball were at Pete Newell’s Big Man Camp recently in Hawaii. Not one was allowed to show his stuff.
The motto of the weeklong camp: Leave your dunks at the door. You’re here to work.
The emphasis in the sessions - NBA players in the morning and collegians in the afternoon - focused primarily on footwork. It may sound like a simple task, but some the biggest names in the sport encountered difficulty in mastering the nuances of movement.
Newell, a coaching legend who will soon turn 85, took an active on-the-court role in running the camp for forwards and centers.
“I’m here to introduce you to your feet,” he told the group at the first get-together. “This is not about how well you can dunk. It’s about moving your feet the right way - to get into position.
“The quality of your shot is going to depend on it.”
He emphasizes to the campers that there will be no full-court games and, again, reminds them not to dunk.
“We’ll do 1-on-1, 2-on-2, 3-on-3,” he said. “That’s it.”
How about a yard sale?
Two days after training camp ended, the Denver Broncos sent a truck back to Northern Colorado University to gather up a collection of forgotten gear.
The stash included CDs by Van Halen, UB40 and Jimi Hendrix, and a few paperback books, including “Meditations for Marriage,” and “The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member.”
There also was a new pair of white, size-15 football cleats, a softball-sized head made of ceramic, chips, a necktie and beer. Perhaps the most valuable item left behind is what appeared to be a playbook.
Any last words?
Commenting on a game the Dodgers threw away to the Mets, Bob Keisser of the Long Beach Press-Telegram wrote:
“The Los Angeles Dodgers may want to consider a new promotion: Blindfold Night.
“This would allow fans to shield their eyes from hideous moments, like the one that took place … Sunday and typified a season gone wrong, and pretty much gone, period.”
The last word …
“What did they do, give away free Corvettes?”
- Reds right-hander Pete Harnisch, who didn’t realize it was Bob Uecker Day in Milwaukee, on hearing that the Brewers had drawn 35,000 for a game against the Cardinals.