They Think This Is How Krzyzewski Drew It Up

It has been more than a week since Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski spurned the Lakers and their millions in favor of retaining his castle in Durham, N.C.

But some media members are still casting a wary eye at Coach K’s professed intentions.

“That’s what this charade of a possible move to the L.A. Lakers was all about: a power play by Krzyzewski to remind Duke, college basketball (as in ESPN) and the ACC/NCAA (and their people in charge of officiating) how much all those entities need his visibility,” wrote Patrick Reusse of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

“You have to like Krzyzewski’s chances of getting that new practice facility, considering that Duke President Richard Brodhead led a ‘Please stay, Coach K’ rally” on campus.

Trivia time: How many of Krzyzewski’s former Duke players have represented the United States in the Olympics?

Another skeptic: Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star compared Krzyzewski to fictional mob boss Tony Soprano.

He also wrote, “This affair with the Lakers now seems very orchestrated, choreographed, put together. It was a well-timed score.

“One year after North Carolina lavished Roy Williams with a perk$-laden contract, not long after the ACC made a huge commitment to football, just weeks after his two best players jumped to the NBA and during Brodhead’s first week on the job, suddenly Coach K, the face of college basketball, wants to contemplate a move to L.A.”

Looking back: On this date in 1972, Robert Irsay bought the stock of the Los Angeles Rams for $19 million and traded the franchise for the Baltimore Colts.

Solid jab: The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick has issues with Muhammad Ali, who refused induction into the U.S. military during the Vietnam War, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at tonight’s All-Star game.

“It doesn’t matter what your politics are or your stand on the war in Iraq and/or the Vietnam War, Muhammad Ali, in view of MLB’s daily, nationwide reminders to think about our troops, makes a bad fit, a terrible fit.”

Questionable grit: Finally, having gone after one American giant, Mushnick set his sights on another, writing, “And it’s worth noting during World War II, U.S. fighting men of all political persuasions booed John Wayne, who avoided induction into the armed forces, yet often appeared in the role of a heroic military man -- a terrible fit.”

Trivia answer: Two. Christian Laettner was on the original Dream Team in 1992, and Grant Hill was on the 1996 squad. Carlos Boozer will be the third Duke player of Krzyzewski’s next month in Greece.

And finally: Dodgers Eric Gagne and Paul Lo Duca and Angels Vladimir Guerrero and Francisco Rodriguez are not the only locals who will be representing their teams tonight in baseball’s All-Star game.

Wade Huie, a Dodger Stadium hawker, and Ricardo Sepulveda, an Angel Stadium vendor, were chosen by food services provider Aramark as two of the 12 “All-Star Vendors” to “demonstrate their unique hawking skills and selling techniques to fans.”