Wedding bells?
A memo went out at Halas Hall recently saying players, coaches and employees can bring spouses or fiancees to Ireland for the Bears’ exhibition game against Pittsburgh.
But no girlfriends. That distinction in relationships comes from on high in Lake Forest, and so the joke around Halas Hall is that there will be a rush on cubic zirconia, with players suddenly planning weddings that are expected to be called off shortly after the team returns from Ireland.
The Rod squad
As Rod Graves closes out his stay as Bears player personnel director, he has gone to Arizona to interview with the Cardinals, but he wants the job in New England.
Thing is, Kansas City also wants to talk to Graves. Yes, Kansas City, the same franchise where the Bears got their new personnel guy, Mark Hatley, the one who got the type of help Graves wanted.
Matchup
I know how terrific Ron Harper is when it comes to shutting down small, quick point guards, but when it comes to Miami’s Tim Hardaway, I’m hoping the Bulls’ medical staff can treat windburn.
Sit down
Miami center Alonzo Mourning’s egging on the home crowd with his Patrick Ewing-like arm-waving would have meant more if, I don’t know, he hadn’t been on the bench with four fouls at the time.
Chill out
Remember Mourning’s paranoid comment about some NBA plot against the Heat and Pat Riley?
It went like this: “Nobody wants to see us win. . . . They don’t want Riles to be successful.”
Well, I’ve seen Mourning’s stupid fouls in the postseason, so if there’s a conspiracy, he’s in on it.
Just asking
What ever happened to Charles Oakley?
Knick knock
Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy gave each player a list of seven stories the media would dwell on for the series against the Heat, such as Van Gundy-Riley; Van Gundy vs. his brother, Stan, a Miami assistant; Ewing-Mourning-Georgetown, et al.
Guess that was instead of reiterating the rules about staying on the bench during a fight.
On the job
Knicks management won’t hold those suspensions that led to a third straight second-round playoff elimination against Van Gundy. Unless, of course, it wants to hire Phil Jackson.
Shake this
It’s good to see that Riley and Van Gundy and their teams do indeed shake hands with opponents after an emotional playoff series.
So they only embarrass themselves after playing Jackson and the Bulls.
Just asking
Ewing’s bold statement before Game 7 that “I’ll see you in Chicago”–he was figuring Mourning could get him tickets, right?
On guard
New York’s Chris Childs is proof that there is New Jersey Nets DNA and no amount of genetic engineering can change it.
Quotable
Houston’s Charles Barkley, on the fatigue factor that might affect the Rockets against the Jazz in the Western Conference finals: “I don’t want to hear another thing about us being tired. You can rest when you die.”
