Officials Not Hip to Baggy Saggin’ Look

A new national rule requires high school basketball players to tuck in their shirts and hike their shorts up to the waist.

The rule targets baggy shorts worn below the hips, a style called “saggin’.” High school kids say they got it from the University of Michigan’s freshman class of 1992 and from Michael Jordan.

Officials with the National Federation of State High Schools maintain that saggin’ posed a serious threat to the game. Dick Schindler, assistant director of the federation, told the Associated Press: “Pants were pulled down so far that it became embarrassing to the people by the anatomy that was showing.”

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Trivia time: What do Sean Gilbert and Mike Ditka have in common?

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Book review: In “The Winner Within, a Life Plan for Team Players,” by Pat Riley, his first sentence is “Teamwork is the essence of life.”

And you thought it was DNA.

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Upper management: The horses stand tall at Santa Anita, but they have company--CEO Steve Keller is 6 feet 8, track President Cliff Goodrich is 6-6 and marketing director Mark Stephens is 6-5.

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No bubbles: Tennessee quarterback Heath Shuler, regarded by some as the top NFL draft choice if he leaves school early, doesn’t smoke or drink. That includes carbonated beverages.

Shuler said he quit the stuff in the fifth grade at Bryson City, N.C., when a rat in an experiment shook uncontrollably after drinking cola for a week.

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Add Shuler: He was named for Heath Barkley, the character played by Lee Majors in the television series, “The Big Valley,” which also starred Barbara Stanwyck.

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Semi-prophet: ESPN’s Lee Corso didn’t buy the line that Penn State would add credibility to the Big Ten. “Credibility? They were 6-5 (in 1992) and then lost their bowl game. What kind of credibility is that? I don’t think Penn State is going to dominate or have the kind of major impact on this conference that people think.”

The Nittany Lions finished with a 9-2 record, a No. 13 ranking and a Citrus Bowl encounter Saturday against No. 6 Tennessee.

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High praise: Montreal Canadiens Coach Jacques Demers said goaltender Patrick Roy belongs in a select group of athletes. “I compare him to (Michael) Jordan and (Joe) Montana because he can go out and win the game himself.”

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Trivia answer: They both attended high school in Aliquippa, Pa.

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Quotebook: Jim Courier, on his second-half tennis slump: “At the moment, my best surface is my bed.”