You’Re Only A Kid Once

Cummerbund or cleats. Tuxedo or team jersey. Prom or pro soccer. It was a scheduling conflict sure to inspire teen angst.

Thanks to the Major League Soccer calendar, 18-year-old Seth Trembly had to make a decision last month whether to suit up for the Colorado Rapids or attend the senior prom at Arapahoe High School.

A limousine ride, dinner and boutonniere ultimately trumped a date with the Chicago Fire as Trembly continued to balance life as a professional soccer player with life as a teenager one month removed from high school graduation.

“It is strange, but it’s kind of cool in a way,” Trembly said. “I’m not Kobe Bryant walking around the streets with 50,000 fans following me. That’s the good part. It’s a little bit (of popularity), but not too much.”

Trembly is one of three teenagers on MLS rosters this season as part of the league’s Project 40 youth development program. Bobby Convey, 17, of D.C. United and DeMarcus Beasley, 18, of the Fire played with Trembly on the U.S. Under-17 Team.

Mas futbol, por favor

Jack Ramsay, former NBA coach and television analyst, on Phil Jackson, coach of the champion Lakers:

“He’s an unusual guy. As a player, he was a gangly, off-the-bench, long-armed defender. He was one of the first I ever saw who would leave his man and help slow down the point guard, just redirect the pace of the game, then return to his man.

“He was a very, very smart and annoying player who would score just enough to keep you honest.”

Looking the wrong way

From the Morning Line column of the Dallas Morning News:

“After a virtual weekend Tiger-Nike infomercial, how smart does Nike look now for signing Tiger Woods to that big endorsement deal?

“Says Nike CEO Phil Knight: `Everybody was looking for the next Michael (Jordan), and they were always looking on the basketball court. He was walking down the fairway.”’

Obsessed with failure

From comedy writer Jerry Perisho: “Have you seen CBS’ new hit show `Survivor’? It’s the harrowing story of an L.A. Lakers fan trying to make his way from the Staples Center to his car.”

The last word …

“If six runs aren’t enough for me, I need to be taken out back and shot.”

- Cleveland Indians starter Chuck Finley, reviewing last week’s 8-6 loss to the Detroit Tigers.