Louie Has No Plans for Beach

Lou Carnesecca was scratching his head. He had just been informed that St. John’s will open against Montana State in the NCAA West regionals Friday at Long Beach.

Montana State is nicknamed the Bobcats. The coach is Stu Starner.

“I hope the guy doesn’t get mad at me,” Carnesecca told Dave Rosner of Newsday, “but I know absolutely nothing about them. I don’t even know who to call up there. Maybe I know some hunter or some fisherman up there. I’ll see how many friends I have.”

Carnesecca wasn’t exactly looking ahead to the trip.

“The last time I was in Long Beach was in 1944, when I was there for the commissioning of a ship,” he said. “I was in the U.S. Coast Guard serving on a Navy transport ship, the H.B. Freeman.”

Why hadn’t he returned?

“I hate the sun,” he said, pulling his pants up to his knees. “These legs have not seen the sun since 1957. That’s a true story. I spent a week in the hospital and swore I’d never go out in the sun again.”

Add NCAA: Anyone notice that the Trojans and the Bruins made the tournament? That’s the Arkansas Little Rock Trojans and the Brown Bruins. The Trojans meet the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame in the first round.

Other nicknames: Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils, Fairfield Stags, Xavier (Ohio) Musketeers, Northwest Louisiana Demons, Drexel Dragons, Marist Red Foxes.

Add Marist: The Red Foxes figure to get shot down by Georgia Tech Thursday, but it won’t be because they lack height or international experience.

Writes Joe Gergen of Newsday: “The leading performers are a 7-3 center from the Netherlands and a 6-11 forward from Yugoslavia. The roster also contains a 7-footer from Guadeloupe, a 6-7 forward from Hungary and a 6-6 swingman from France.”

Trivia Time: What player was named the MVP of the NBA championship series and the NCAA Final Four despite playing for losing teams? (Answer below.)

Ron Harper of Miami (Ohio), in a Sports Illustrated story, told how Dan Palombizio of Ball State was giving him some lip in a Mid-American Conference playoff game last year. Harper responded by outscoring Palombizio, 45 to 18 points, as Miami won, 91-70.

“Some players are just good players, and some players just talk trash,” Harper said. “Talk is cheap. You have to do your talking on the floor.”

Maybe Palombizio read it. When the same two teams met in the Mid-American final last Friday, Palombizio outscored Harper, 29 to 28 points, and outrebounded him, 15 to 14. Ball State won, 87-79.

Wrote Frank Luksa of the Dallas Times Herald after Eduardo Rodriguez said he couldn’t get up after being decked by Donald Curry because of a leg cramp: “It appeared to me his brain had cramped.”

Said Cleveland Browns’ Coach Marty Schottenheimer when someone suggested it would be a quarterback derby among Bernie Kosar, Gary Danielson and Paul McDonald next season: “I looked up derby in the dictionary and it comes between derangement and derelict. That in itself makes it a word we should stay away from.”

How slow was Ernie Lombardi, the big catcher who was just elected to the Hall of Fame?

Sportswriter Stanley Frank once said of Lou Boudreau: “He is easily the slowest ballplayer since Ernie Lombardi was thrown out trying to stretch a double into a single.”

Trivia Answer: Jerry West. He played for West Virginia in the 71-70 loss to Cal in 1958-59, and for the Lakers in the loss to Boston in seven games in 1968-69.

Quotebook

Mike Jorgensen, now a minor league instructor for the St. Louis Cardinals, on why he’s no longer playing: “There’s a conspiracy among the clubs. Nobody’s hiring 37-year-old players who can’t hit.”