Forgive Him if He Still Feels a Little Green

St. Patrick’s Day is not a day that Bob Boyd, former USC basketball coach, celebrates.

In 1973, his Trojans played Notre Dame in a first-round NIT game in Madison Square Garden on St. Patrick’s Day.

The Irish, wearing shamrocks on their uniforms, shot 33 more free throws than the Trojans and were called for only 10 fouls to USC’s 28.

Nonetheless, Notre Dame barely won, 69-65.

Oh, by the way, Tom Casey was one of the officials.

“I want to thank the tournament committee for pairing us with Notre Dame on St. Patrick’s Day,” Boyd said at the time.

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Trivia time: Which school has made the most appearances in the NCAA basketball tournament?

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Bon appetit : Bill Rodgers, who won the Boston Marathon four times, is still an active runner in Masters events at 47.

He was once known as “the King of Junk Food,” but Rodgers told Woody Woodburn of the Ventura Star-Free Press that he ate only “weird” food.

“I’d drink pickle juice or maple syrup,” he said. “I’d eat peanut butter, mayonnaise and horseradish--together on Cheerios. I still do.”

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Event was a dud: Track & Field News reports that a January meet in Horsham, England, had to be canceled. The reason? Unearthed at a nearby construction site was a 1,000-pound bomb of World War II vintage.

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Iron hands: Richie Ashburn, who was recently elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, once noticed as a Philadelphia Phillie broadcaster that a New York Met equipment man was mending Dave Kingman’s glove.

“They should have called a welder,” Ashburn said.

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Throwback team: The Mets’ replacement team was winless in nine spring training games and committed 20 errors before finally winning on Tuesday.

Manager Dallas Green assessed his team, saying, “We don’t hit very well. We don’t have any power. We don’t run well. The defense makes a lot of errors, and we haven’t pitched too good, Is there anything else you want to know?”

Barry’s biggest fan: John Steigerwald in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “You realize, of course, that as of April 2, if major league players are still on strike, Barry Bonds will be losing $1,750 an hour, 24 hours a day, for as long as the strike lasts.

“Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.”

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Whoa there: A 24-hour channel devoted solely to equestrian events is scheduled to begin early next year. We can hardly wait.

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FYI: Some fans in Pittsburgh are calling the replacement Pirates the counterfeit Bucs.

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Called trot? Tom FitzGerald in the San Francisco Chronicle: “Dogwood Stables in South Carolina has received permission to name one of its 3-year-olds after Babe Ruth. Do you suppose he’ll ever point a hoof at the finish line?”

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Trivia answer: Kentucky with 36, followed by UCLA with 30.

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Quotebook: Kevin Pritchard on playing in the Continental Basketball Assn. and getting $25 a day for meal money: “If we found a Denny’s, that was a big plus.”