Sideline Chatter
What would he have said if Olajuwon hit a third shot?

By Dwight Perry
The Seattle Times

Craig Kilborn

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most read articles Most e-mailed articles

Ever wonder how those ESPN anchors come up with those crazy catch-phrases? In Craig Kilborn's case, it's good to have a blood brother.

Kilborn, one of five former ESPN anchors making guest appearances on "SportsCenter" this week, recalled the night that Hakeem Olajuwon returned to the Houston Rockets' lineup after being sidelined with anemia.

Said Kilborn: "I was talking to my brother, and he said, 'His red cell count must be up.' I said, 'That's great. Give me something else related to blood,' and he said, 'Hemoglobin.'

"So that night Olajuwon hits a jumper and I say, 'His red-cell count must be up.' He hits another, and I say, 'Hemoglobin.' "

Good thing Olajuwon didn't make one off the glass, because, as Larry Stewart of the Los Angeles Times noted, ESPN viewers might have been treated to "blood bank."

Shanks a lot, Coach

George O'Leary, the Central Florida football coach, told reporters about a conversation he had with one of his punters, who was continuously shanking kicks during spring practice:

Coach: "Are you on scholarship?"

Punter: "Yes, but I get real nervous when you're around."

Coach: "Well, son, I intend on being at all the games."
 
Going global

Anna Benson, the wife of new Mets pitcher Kris Benson, has gone on record as saying she wants to make love with her husband in every city his team visits, the New York Post reported.

"In a related story," wrote Cam Hutchinson of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, "Kris Benson has asked for a trade to the Harlem Globetrotters."

The finish line

To hear Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden talk about Bucs defensive end Greg Spires, it's tough to tell whether that "FSU" on Spires' resume stands for Florida State or Finishing School.

"He's a finisher, I'll say that about him," Gruden told the St. Petersburg Times. "That's probably the best compliment I can give him, that he finishes everything.

"He finishes his breakfast, he finishes his dinner and he finishes every play."

Talking the talk

• Matt Yocum, TNT pit reporter, on NASCAR driver Tony Stewart's expanding waistline: "That's why his nickname has gone from 'Rushville (Ind.) Rocket' to 'Krispy Kreme Comet.' "

• Comedian Alex Kaseberg, on the U.S. Olympic men's basketball team getting embarrassed by Italy and barely beating Germany: "If this is the 'Dream Team,' it's the dream where you're late for a final exam and you're not wearing any clothes."

• Michael Ventre of MSNBC, on Lakers draft pick Marcus Douthit being charged in an identity-theft and embezzlement scam: "On the plus side, the development gives the club some depth at defendant."

Wife in the big city

Forget A-Rod vs. Jeter. Is New York big enough for Anna Benson and Brenda Warner?

Dwight Perry: 206-464-8250 or dperry@seattletimes.com