Lineman Is Right at Home in Pit--the Snake Pit, That Is

Nebraska middle guard Mike Murray treats opposing ballcarriers much like the garter snakes he chased as a youngster on Chicago’s South Side.

He hunts them down.

Murray, who will help chase No. 2-ranked Colorado Saturday in Boulder, Colo., lists snake chasing as his favorite hobby. He started chasing the snakes when he was 4 but quit at 8, after he claimed he was bitten.

“My friends and I used to catch them for fun when we were little,� said Murray, a starter who has 14 tackles for the No. 3-ranked Cornhuskers. “There was this big field next to some railroad tracks near my house, and there were a lot of garter snakes in it. We would catch them and have snake races and stuff. Sometimes we would let them go.�

But not all the captive snakes were so lucky. Sometimes, Murray and friends would step on them.

Modesty gets you somewhere: Daryl Battles, a basketball player at South Alabama, listed Magic Johnson as his favorite pro athlete.

His favorite college athlete?

“Myself,� he said.

Punch lines: Some of the greatest boxers of all time aren’t quite sure about the durability of the greatest boxer of this time, Mike Tyson.

“Give him a little more time to destroy himself,� said Larry Holmes, who held the heavyweight title from 1978 until 1985.

Holmes was joined at a news conference in New York by Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and Ken Norton to promote the Champions Forever video.

“He seems to be doing the job,� Norton said of Tyson. “There’s no one else around. Who’s left?�

But Holmes, the only one of the five to fight Tyson--he was knocked out in the fourth round in January, 1988--said the current champion doesn’t have the power of Earnie Shavers, a contender in the late 1970s.

“Tyson is very strong, very sharp,� Holmes said. “His quickness and sharpness is the key. He doesn’t hit hard like Earnie Shavers.�

That brought some light-hearted banter from his contemporaries, who were quick to note that he didn’t last long against Tyson.

“You’re hit--real quick and fast,� Holmes said of facing Tyson. “Shavers, when he hit you, every bone in your body shakes.�

Trivia time: Who is the only player to be on four NBA teams in one season?

Back to the books: Kenny Anderson, a freshman at Georgia Tech, was asked during an interview with ESPN about his athletic and academic career at Archbishop Molloy High School in Jamaica, N.Y.

His reply: “The academics is very tough here. I play only one sport (basketball) because I’m basically lazy.�

Joe nose football?: Former New York Jet players Joe Klecko and Joe Fields are quick to join the team’s fans in the chant, “Joe Must Go.�

In their book, “Nose to Nose,� Klecko and Fields do nothing to mask their distaste for Jet Coach Joe Walton.

Klecko, the NFL defensive player of the year in 1981 and the first defensive player to be selected for the Pro Bowl at three different positions, writes in the book: “You know what he loves? He loves to have his . . . kissed in the papers.�

Fields, who was selected for the Pro Bowl at center in 1981, says of Walton: “We never heard positive reinforcement from Walton. He always attacked us.�

Sibling rivalry: When Charles Hobbs lines up at left guard for Tulane Saturday, he will see a familiar face staring across at him--his younger brother, Chris, a defensive lineman at Memphis State.

“One nice thing about that is neither one of them is going to say anything bad about the other one’s mother,� Tulane Coach Greg Davis said.

Trivia answer: Rod Higgins of the Golden State Warriors, who in 1985-86 played for Seattle, San Antonio, New Jersey and Chicago.

Quotebook: Indiana Coach Bob Knight, on his demeanor: “There’s not much difference between Santa Claus and me. We’re two overweight, lovable guys that kids really enjoy.�