Expanding horizons: NBA officials, who received overtures from Los Angeles Kings owner Bruce McNall to start a team in Toronto, will be watching closely Friday when the Bulls and Sacramento play their SkyDome exhibition. They should like what they see. The facility will seat 25,000 for basketball, and only 2,000 tickets remained unsold Thursday. Insiders say McNall was told he`d be first in line for an expansion team.
Second season: It isn`t too early to hear rumors about coaching changes, and one of the juiciest involving Chicago has Bears assistants Vince Tobin and Johnny Roland in competition for what is sure to be a vacancy at Missouri, their alma mater. Tigers interim AD Dan Devine coached both Tobin and Roland and likes `em both. Vince has trouble getting his foot in the door for an NFL job. Johnny`s always been mentioned as Walter Payton`s pick for an expansion team in St. Louis, but there`s no guarantee there. Besides, based on current conditions, timing may never be better for leaving the Bears. There`s another person in the Missouri mix in Washington State coach Mike Price, who`s also a Devine disciple. More from the campus grapevine:
– Southwest Conference insiders say it`s a done deal that Grant Teaff, who`s retiring as football coach to concentrate on being Baylor AD at the end of the season, will be replaced by Clemson`s Ken Hatfield. Like Teaff a born-again Christian, Hatfield should like Baylor, which has ties to the Baptist Church. – Tennessee offensive coordinator Phil Fulmer, who did such a good job in Johnny Majors` absence this season, is said to be a sure thing for South Carolina, where Sparky Woods is getting the boot after his players gave him a no-confidence vote this season.
– Nebraska coordinator Frank Solich will take over at Nevada-Las Vegas, where former Notre Dame assistant Jim Strong has failed to ignite the Rebels.
Diamond in the rough 1: Don`t be so sure baseball owners are sad to see ESPN pull the plug on its contract. The timing couldn`t be better for this reason: It`s going to make it easier to sing the blues in free-agent negotiations.
Diamond in the rough 2: Lee Smith unprotected? That`s the speculation in St. Louis, where the reliever has continued to excel through the years as a closer after the Cubs, in a colossal goof, traded him away. The Cards think Smith`s age (35) and contract-$3 million next season-will scare the Marlins and Rockies. If he does get picked, St. Louis may bank on Todd Worrell.
Heavenly daze: Turns out Mike Ditka`s temperament the last few weeks is explainable by the stars. Astrologer Laurie Brady, writing in Spotlight Chicago, says: ”The reason that Mike Ditka is not all sweetness and light as most of his co-sign (Libra) members is that his Moon is in the ambitious sign of Capricorn.” (Anyone have a better explanation?) Brady goes on to predict a Super Bowl championship next season. Undoubtedly, this is a great confidence booster for Iron Mike.
Hoops oops: Already in the middle of a forgettable football season, here`s a bad omen for Big 10 basketball: When CBS-TV showed a conference highlight film at this week`s Tipoff Luncheon in Indianapolis, the first two excerpts were from Michigan`s loss to Duke and Indiana`s loss to Kentucky.
In the nets: This seems to be the year of the female goalie. First, Manon Rheaume made headlines by getting a tryout in the NHL and now Cammi Granato, of Downers Grove, is USA Hockey`s nominee for the U.S. Olympic Committee`s Sportswoman of the Year. Granato, sister of the Kings` Tony Granato, was goalie on the U.S. women`s team that won a silver medal in the world championships. She plays at Providence College. Nominated for the USOC`s Sportsman of the Year was Ray LeBlanc, a Blackhawk farmhand who was goalie on the U.S. team that placed fourth in the Winter Olympics.
Around town: Olympic gymnastics star Betty Okino, whose parents live in Elmhurst, will be a special guest for youngsters Friday afternoon in the Joliet YMCA. . . . The Pick 7 wagering for this weekend`s Breeders` Cup, which gives bettors the chance to select winners for all the races, is projected to do better than last year`s $8.5 million. The odds are long, but the payoff`s big. There were 29 winning tickets in the U.S. last year. At Hawthorne`s simulcast, where no one got all seven, $332,473 was wagered. . . . The bimonthly Ye Old Has Beens` sports luncheon is Nov. 11 in the Como Inn. . . . Olympic bronze medal decathlete Dave Johnson will take part in services Saturday and Sunday in the Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington. Gown & helmet: Nobel prize winners outnumber Heisman Trophy winners 63-1 at the University of Chicago. Up-to-date statistics indicate the school has a good mix of brains and brawn, however. In 1991-92, the cumulative grade-point average of the 500 or so student-athletes who participated in varsity sports was 3.05 on a four-point scale, higher than the 3.01 mark for the entire student body. Interestingly, the male athlete GPA was higher than for the women, 3.08-3.01.
1 vs. 2? Gary Barnett will be the speaker Friday at a Northwestern Gridiron Network luncheon in Harry Caray`s, where ex-Wildcat All-American Otto Graham also will be a guest. Final thought for the day: If the Wildcats beat Michigan State Saturday, it`ll give them three Big 10 wins for the first time since 1973 and guarantee they`ll go into the following week`s game with Michigan as a second-place team.
