THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 16, 1994 TAG: 9409160645
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Bob Molinaro
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
You be the star: HBO reportedly is planning to film crowd reaction shots at Scope during Sweetpea Whitaker's Oct. 1 title fight against Buddy McGirt to use in the Mike Tyson movie currently under production.
True story: Alabama football fans keep calling the school, asking for pictures of Forrest Gump. They think the Tom Hanks character actually played for the Crimson Tide. Makes you wonder who has the IQ of 75.
No glove, either: More surprising than his hitting problems was the discovery that Michael Jordan - ``the world's greatest athlete'' - can be kind of a klutz in the outfield.
Grand sham: Andre Agassi's post match theatrics at the U.S. Open - Dropping to his knees; babbling, ``I don't believe it, I don't believe it.'' - were about as phony as they come. Think girl friend Brooke is giving him acting lessons?
Tube talk: Fans of Norfolk's own Joe Smith won't have to wait long to see the sophomore center in action for the Maryland basketball team. The Terps' Nov. 21 game in the Maui Classic is being carried by ESPN.
One more try: If six NBA teams are really interested in seeing if Ralph Sampson's creaky, 34-year-old knees are up to a comeback you can only imagine how thin talent will be when Vancouver and Toronto enter the league.
Piling on: What did we learn from the Florida Gators' two 70-point scoring orgies? That Florida is No. 1 in football? Or that coach Steve Spurrier is a bully?
A familiar story: In his ninth season at the University of Akron, Gerry Faust's football team is 0-2, having been outscored, 77-7. Since leaving Notre Dame, Faust has compiled a 42-45-3 record at Akron.
Plenty of time: With Notre Dame falling early to Michigan, Lou Holtz has the rest of the season to resent the polls.
Numbers game: Baseball's individual marks for 1994 shouldn't go into the record books. The season deserves to be treated the same as a game that has been rained out after four innings.
Bottoms up: Looking to Saturday's big game against Clemson, Virginia center Bryan Heath hopes for better-than-usual crowd support in Charlottesville. ``All our fans do,'' he said to a newspaper reporter this week, ``is get sauced in the parking lot.''
We can always dream: Dick Vitale, after breaking his wrist swinging a golf club: ``As long as they don't put a cast on my tongue, I'm OK.''
The future: Florida Marlins owner Wayne Huizenga, quoted in Fortune magazine, said, ``Probably within five or 10 years you'll see Nike owning a basketball team, and Reebok, too.'' It goes without saying that they already own many of the athletes.
Quick hit: The NBA wouldn't need new rules if it had better and smarter stars.
A hidden gem: After throwing for eight touchdowns last Saturday, Steve ``Air'' McNair, a 6-foot-2, 218-pound senior quarterback at Division I-AA Alcorn State, is on pace to toss 72 touchdown passes this year. If the Heisman Trophy voters continue to ignore McNair, so what? The pros love him.
In passing: Jim McMahon and Buddy Ryan deserve one another.
Who's the kid here? Notre Dame quarterback Ron Powlus gives the appearance of being very mature for his age, which is more than you can say for the TV bozos who compare him with Joe Montana.
The way we were: With NFL teams wearing replicas of vintage uniforms, John Madden should show up to broadcast this week's game with long sideburns, bell-bottom pants and a mood ring. by CNB