On Way Out the Door, He Got the Last Laugh

The relaxed approach of new Green Bay Coach Lindy Infante is being welcomed by Packer veterans who were weary of the constant tension under former coach Forrest Gregg.

“A lot of people got turned off, shut off,” Packer guard Tom Neville told the Sporting News. “Guys were falling asleep in meetings. The psychology wasn’t reaching them.”

That recalls this quote from former Boston Bruins Coach Don Cherry: “I don’t think any coach should stay any longer than five years. There’s no more stories to tell after five years. I think the players just get sick of listening to them.”

Then there’s John Ralston. When he resigned as coach of the Denver Broncos, he cited illness and fatigue.

“The fans got sick and tired of me,” he said.

Just Wondering: If the Utah Jazz hadn’t traded the draft rights to Dominique Wilkins for Atlanta’s John Drew and Freeman Williams plus cash in 1982, would the Lakers still be in the playoffs?

Trivia Time: On this date in 1935, Babe Ruth hit his last home run. Who gave it up? His nickname was the Mississippi Mudcat. (Answer below.)

Is old age finally catching up with the Boston Celtics? Tony Kornheiser of the Washington Post says: “Parish, Bird and D.J. go back so far they can remember when Cher was a singer.”

Bird says it’s nothing but talk.

“Ten years from now, we could all come back and beat a lot of the current teams in the league,” he told the Sporting News. “These teams don’t play smart or together. That’s why we win all the time.”

Add Bird: Earlier in the season, he conceded that the Lakers were better than the Celtics, but he’s changing his mind.

“We’ve gotten better,” he said. “If we face them, forget all the past history. It’ll be a hell of a series.”

More Bird: Dave Wohl, former assistant to Pat Riley, told Anthony Cotton of the Washington Post how the Lakers used to defend against the Celtic star:

“We had four or five ways to do it. If Michael Cooper was on him, we’d deny him the ball. If it was James Worthy, we’d back off him. When we had Larry Spriggs, we would try to bang him and beat him up physically.

“We wanted to bump him every time, even if it was 30 feet away from the basket, just to establish contact. Sometimes we would switch off on picks, sometimes not at all. We wanted to get him out of rhythm, expecting something different so he’d never feel comfortable about what was coming next.”

Could Wilt Chamberlain still play in the NBA at age 50?

At a recent reunion of Philadelphia basketball stars, they had a shoot-around at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Philadelphia Inquirer reported:

“Chamberlain took Ray Scott, a rival at West Philadelphia High when Wilt was at Overbrook, out to what would have been three-point range in the NBA. After watching Chamberlain make about five shots in a row, Hal Greer, who had been a teammate of Chamberlain’s with the 76ers, declined an invitation to join the competition.”

Trivia Answer: Guy Bush of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ruth, playing for the Boston Braves, hit three home runs, the first off Red Lucas and the last two off Bush.

On the same day, Jesse Owens of Ohio State set three world records and equaled another in the Big Ten track and field championships at Ann Arbor, Mich.

Quotebook

St. John’s basketball Coach Lou Carnesecca, on Olympic hopeful Alonzo Mourning, the 6-9 Virginia prep star who is headed for Georgetown: “He will hasten the retirement of a lot of coaches.”