Their Only Guarantee Was a Victory, Not Satisfaction
The University of New Hampshire has the longest home losing streak in college basketball. The Wildcats last won at Ludholm Gymnasium in February of 1988.
And the New Hampshire sports publicity office doesn’t mind capitalizing on it.
Saturday was “Guaranteed Win Day” at UNH. The promotion drew 2,551 fans, the school’s largest home crowd since 1984.
The fun was lost on Coach Rudy Keeling of the University of Maine, whose Black Bears came from behind in the final two minutes and won, 71-68.
Said Keeling: “I thought that promotion was bush. To put kids in a situation like that is not the thing to do. You call national attention to a bad situation.”
Add New Hampshire: New Hampshire Coach Jim Boylan said the promotion distracted his team, which turned the ball over on its first six possessions and fell behind, 13-1.
Said Boylan: “I called time out and told them just because people are here doesn’t mean you’ll play well. I told them I’d give them about 30 seconds to start playing, and if they didn’t I was going to yank all of them.”
Trivia time: Who was the last rookie to lead the NBA in scoring?
Unguarded moment: In January, Floyd Peters was fired as the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive coordinator. His next move will be his 15th in 33 years. His pro football career includes 13 years as a player, two as a scout and 17 as a coach.
Said Peters: “I’m not nervous about it. I was a guard at San Quentin prison in 1955. They paid you $150 a month, room and board, and you got a free shoeshine, haircut and shave once a week. An inmate holding that razor to your throat giving you that shave. That makes you nervous.”
What a concept: In a recent story on Kevin McHale, Jackie MacMullan of the Boston Globe wrote that the Celtic forward was “criticized by some, admired by others” for keeping his professional and private lives separate.
MacMullan quoted Detroit’s Isiah Thomas as saying: “We beat Boston in (Boston Garden) one year during the playoffs. After the game, I saw Kevin with his wife and his kids walking out laughing, having a good time. . . .
“I told someone, ‘That’s how I want to be. If I can get it down that good, to play, leave it on the court and spend time with my kids, then I’d be OK. I’d be living.’ ”
Spelled as it sounds: Georgetown center Dikembe Mutombo’s full name is Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean Jacque Wamutombo.
Trivia answer: Elvin Hayes of the San Diego Rockets in 1968-69, with an average of 28.4 points.
Quotebook: Eric Nesterenko, formerly of the Chicago Blackhawks, on working with actor Rob Lowe in the movie “Youngblood”: “Having him on the power play is like putting Cheryl Tiegs at middle linebacker, but it was fun.”
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