The ‘New’ Glove Fits Perfectly in Seattle

Steve Kelley of Seattle Times, writing on the “new,” less volatile Gary Payton of the Seattle SuperSonics: “‘He hasn’t, as they say, blown a gasket,’ said Coach Nate McMillan. ‘He’s been great with our young guys, teaching and setting an example both on and off the floor. I think people expected it to be difficult, but Gary’s always been one to respect effort and we have been giving the effort....’

“A unique blend of the old Gary--second in the league in minutes played, third in assists and 12th in scoring. And the new--a leaner leader.”

Wonders never cease.

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Trivia time: Who holds the NCAA Division I-A record for passes caught in a game?

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Better than nothing: The first Seattle Bowl will be played Dec. 27 at Safeco Field and Laura Vecsey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer said: “If the fledgling Seattle Bowl needs a mascot that will grab everyone’s attention--and symbolize its flagging perception--Rodney Dangerfield is the perfect candidate.”

Stanford is one of the participating teams, and receiver Luke Powell put a positive spin on the assignment: “The Seattle bowl is better than the bowl we went to last year, which was the Going Home for Christmas Bowl.”

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Brawl-game: Former San Diego Charger Eric Bieniemy, now the running backs coach at alma mater Colorado, on Saturday’s matchup in the Big 12 championship game: “Our offense is a physical unit that likes to line up and play smash-mouth football. We know this week we’ll have our hands full because Texas has a great defense. It’s going to be a fistfight, one of those 15-round, old-school Muhammad Ali fights.”

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Awakening: Several NBA players have gotten rid of their agents, the Denver Post reports. Among them are such big names as Ray Allen, Stephon Marbury, John Stockton, Chris Webber, Antonio McDyess and Nick Van Exel.

“We really don’t need them,” Van Exel said. “We’re just throwing our money away.”

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Poor mouthing: Mark Kreidler in the Sacramento Bee: “After watching Greg Norman walk away with $1 million in the Skins Game, competitor Colin Montgomerie said: ‘I came with nothing and I left with nothing.’

“Or, put another way, he came a multimillionaire golfer and left a multimillionaire golfer and an expenses-paid week in California.”

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Don’t do it: Tom FitzGerald in the San Francisco Chronicle: “CBS pro football analyst Randy Cross was asked on KNBR-AM if he thought the NFL might schedule more night games, and said such a move might be ‘over-milking the Golden Goose.”’

Said Fred Hollister of Alameda, ‘Sounds like a real mess to me.”’

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More FitzGerald: “‘If you want to get rid of Osama bin Laden,’ says Sonja Hyams of San Francisco, ‘put him on the cover of Sports Illustrated.”’

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Trivia answer: Randy Gatewood of Nevada Las Vegas, 23, against Idaho on Sept. 17, 1994.

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And finally: After the Chicago Bulls were routed, 100-68, recently by the New Jersey Nets, Bull forward Charles Oakley summed up his team’s collapse: “This ain’t like a flat tire where you can fix it and keep on riding. This is a blowout. No spare. Nothing open for, like, a hundred miles. So we’ve got to do some walking.”