THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 17, 1995 TAG: 9502170649
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB MOLINARO
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
Jacksonville's problem: To the Redskins' relief, Desmond Howard finally ran the proper pass pattern - down and out of town.
College material: A pleasant departure from the usual reports of high school athletes who can't make the grade is Duke's recent success in signing 25 football recruits with an average SAT score of almost 1100.
Tubular: It makes sense that the overwhelming majority of today's NFL players would call for the return of instant replay - it gives them a chance for more TV exposure.
Idle thought: If NBA officials could stop congratulating themselves long enough to read the reviews, they might notice that their All-Star Game is becoming as tedious as the NFL's Pro Bowl.
Confused: You get the feeling that Lenny Dykstra's opinions on the baseball strike change according to who he's spoken with last.
Vice versa: As John Thompson's team struggles, it's easy to see that it wasn't Georgetown that saved Allen Iverson, but the other way around.
A long way to go: Cory Alexander, a legend in his own mind, can forget about being taken in the first round of the next NBA draft. His second foot injury will scare away any pro team that might have been tempted.
The bores of summer: If the baseball strike continues into April, the most pitiable creatures will be the people who stock their ``Rotisserie'' league teams with replacement players. You know somebody will do it.
Quick hit: Stories about the new, grown-up Charles Barkley are always premature.
Tough luck: Though the capacity of the Seattle Kingdome for the Final Four is 38,000, only 9,460 tickets will be held for the general public. The rest go to participating schools, the NCAA, the coaches association and corporate sponsors.
A free man: Why do so many feel so sorry for former Golden State Warriors coach Don Nelson? Seems to me he's had his sentence commuted.
And Merv Griffin will carry the torch: The 1996 Olympics are guaranteed to be a success now that ``Jeopardy!'' and ``Wheel of Fortune'' have been named the ``official game shows' of the Atlanta Games.
A handful: With Duke way down, the ACC may have to be satisfied with five teams in the NCAA tournament this season. Any other conference would be thrilled.
Guessing game: Kentucky coach Rick Pitino speaks for a lot of us when he says, ``No matter how much you know about this game, you can't possibly look at the Top 25 right now and pick a Final Four.''
The perfect gift: The other day, the owner of the Lotte Marines of the Pacific League of Japanese baseball presented former Norfolk Tides manager Bobby Valentine with an eight-foot valentine.
He's their man: As Virginia goes through the process of selecting a new director of athletics, a popular Charlottesville watering hole is handing out ``Bring Back Terry'' bumper stickers. That's Terry Holland, of course.
Name game: For the sake of the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars, let's hope that whoever chose those nicknames isn't involved in picking the players. by CNB