Fast Break

Baseball

Down on spitting image

Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona has been feeling grumpy during spring training. He used to have a highly addictive habit, one that went hand-in-hand with his sport. He used smokeless chewing tobacco, also known as dip, spit or chew. Francona stopped using it three weeks ago.

It’s estimated about 30 percent of big leaguers use spit tobacco these days. That number has fallen from a peak of 46 percent in 1987.

For Francona, a $20,000 wager – actually a donation to charity – with Red Sox President Larry Lucchino, who twice has battled cancer, was motivation to quit.

“The players are horrible,” Francona said. “Horrible. David Ortiz is putting it under my nose.”

Basketball

Think your seat was pricey?

The Boston Celtics confirmed Sunday that the team had been fined $30,000 by the NBA for excessive contact with the family of Texas star freshman and likely lottery draft pick Kevin Durant.

G.M. Danny Ainge sat next to Durant’s mother during the Big 12 tournament. That violated rules demanding that contact be kept to a minimum.

Irish finally ‘win’ one

First Notre Dame stopped winning the big ones, going 0-9 in bowl games since 1994. Then it stumbled against a little one, tiny Winthrop College, in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Now it’s down to picking on high schools.

Notre Dame has devoted several years to seeing that Indianapolis’ Cathedral HS give up its longtime usage of the fighting leprechaun logo, which it has agreed with. At last, the Fighting Irish won one.