Another Sign That the End Is Coming

The sports memorabilia industry is appalled that Indiana prison officials are destroying potential collectibles from the prison stay of boxer Mike Tyson.

His tin cups could fetch a small fortune in the open market, according to a story by Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

“The state could have auctioned off items Tyson signed in prison and balanced the budget,” said Steve Nowlin, owner of A Rare Find Gallery. “You would be amazed what items associated with Tyson and his time behind bars would bring in the marketplace.”

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Trivia time: Which school last finished the college basketball season and NCAA tournament undefeated?

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Rattled: Pete Atwater will think twice the next time he approaches a baby rattlesnake to take a picture.

The snake bit the assistant golf coach from Binghamton (N.Y.) University during a practice round for a collegiate tournament at the Simi Hills course in Simi Valley.

Atwater was bitten on the index finger of his left hand. Fortunately, he was carrying a bee-sting kit because of an allergy to bee venom and injected himself with anti-toxin shortly after he was bitten.

Baby rattlers may be small, but their venom is full strength.

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Significant numbers: NBC’s Conan O’Brien: “You guys excited about Michael Jordan? In case you didn’t know, Michael Jordan has returned to basketball, and here are last night’s statistics--McDonald’s up three-quarters, Nike up one-eighth. . . . “

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Calm down: Mark Mariani, executive vice president of sales for Turner Sports, on what it meant to televise Jordan’s first home game last Friday night: “We’re experiencing Jorgasm.”

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Mr. P.R.: Asked what grade he would give Coach Bill Belichick on his dealings with the media, owner Art Modell of the Cleveland Browns said:

“If he was a D two years ago--and that might be giving him the best of it--I’d say he’s a C plus, maybe a C. He’s moving up.”

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Twilight zone: Marty Conlon, a Milwaukee Buck forward, banged his head on the knee of Golden State forward Dave Wood in the first half of a game last week. He returned to play, but a question he asked in the second half retired him for the game.

Said Milwaukee Coach Mike Dunleavy: “We knew he was in trouble when he asked (trainer) Mark Pfeil how come Don Nelson wasn’t coaching at the other end.”

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Don’t bet on it: Todd Hundley, New York Met catcher, is another major leaguer sneering at replacement players:

“The fans may be against us now, but when they see the caliber of ball being played, they’re going to be screaming for us to come back.”

Remember, Todd, out of sight, out of mind.

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Looking back: On this day in 1975, UCLA defeated Kentucky, 92-85, for its 10th NCAA basketball championship under Coach John Wooden, who had announced his retirement two days earlier.

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Trivia answer: Indiana, with a 32-0 record in 1976.

Quotebook: Lorenzo Romar, UCLA assistant basketball coach, on Tyus Edney: “He’s very unassuming, very quiet. But he’s as confident as Muhammad Ali.”