THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 9, 1996 TAG: 9602090673
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Bob Molinaro
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
Chat back: During an international conference call with sports writers this week, our own Joe Smith was asked why his Golden State Warriors teammates call him ``Simba,'' after the lead character in ``The Lion King.'' ``Because,'' he said, ``they think I have the heart of a lion.''
His appointed rounds: Smith says Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone is the toughest player he's tried to guard. No wonder. In three games against the Warriors, the Mailman has delivered 101 points, including a UPS-sized package of 51 in a single game.
Add talk: To everyone's surprise, O.J. Simpson did not phone in to the Smith teleconference to explain his side of the story.
Turning back the clock: Just in case Art Modell's nostalgia campaign in Baltimore extends beyond the romancing of Don Shula, Art Donovan might want to find a helmet that fits.
Color coded: Instead of changing the Browns' name to Mustangs (ugh!), a more fitting handle under the circumstances of the franchise's move is the Baltimore Greens.
Poor aim: Seems SAT scores aren't the only substandard numbers produced by college basketball players. Field-goal and free-throw percentages, which have dropped every year since 1989, are down again, while 3-point shooting accuracy is at an all-time low.
An underhanded maneuver: Years ago, Rick Barry proved the effectiveness of the underhand free-throw toss. Shaquille O'Neal or any number of collegians (this season's NCAA foul-shooting average is 66.6 percent) could benefit from Barry's between-the-knees delivery. They won't try it for one reason - it doesn't look cool.
Name game: The PGA Tour may be boring at times, but on the Sen-iors Tour it is truly a case of the Bland leading the bland. That's John Bland, the earnings front-runner.
Tour over America: Magic Johnson plans to hang out in San Antonio during All-Star Weekend. The cameras will find him, and vice versa.
Token appreciation: Clippers rookie Brent Barry is only the third white player ever invited to take part in the NBA All-Star dunk contest.
Quick hit: All you need to know about the importance of dunking is that Magic Johnson and Larry Bird have never had much use for it.
In passing: C'mon, admit it. Until recently, you thought Nancy Lieberman-Cline already had been enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame. So did I.
Body art: Think of Dennis Rodman's All-Star Game snub as another opportunity for His Weirdness to add graffiti to a part of his anatomy that hasn't been painted yet.
Dog bites man: It's uncanny, don't you think, how every story this week about college football recruiting reports the coaches to be thrilled with the talent they've signed. We should all live long enough to hear from a coach who confesses to having had a bad recruiting year.
The main event: Students at Virginia Tech are camping out in the snow for tickets to what they think will be the ambush of No. 1 UMass on Feb. 17.
Puck-ish: Once upon a time, the National Hockey League was Greek to me. Now it's Russian. by CNB