It Would Be Hard to Find a Bigger Name

A 15-year-old soccer player from central England has a heavy burden to bear. For one thing, it would be almost impossible to list him in a telephone directory.

The youngster, son of a die-hard fan, was named after the entire 1976 Manchester United team--Graham Alex Jimmy Stewart Gerry Brian Martin Steve Sammy Stuart Lou Gordon David Tommy Matt Cross.

However, he has signed to play with Leeds, not Manchester. It’s estimated that it took him 20 minutes to sign his name.

Trivia time: How many times has a Final Four been held in Los Angeles?

Numbers freak: Montana basketball Coach Blaine Taylor hopes 14 is his lucky number. The Grizzlies (27-3) are seeded 14th in the NCAA’s West Regional, Taylor was born on the 14th and he wore No. 14 as a Montana player in 1977-81.

Montana plays third-seeded Florida State (20-9) in a first-round game Thursday at Boise, Ida.

“Maybe if we hold them to 14 points, we’ll win,� Taylor said.

Add Grizzlies: “I think we probably know as little about them as they do about us,� Taylor said. “We’re about as far away as we can get from one another and still be in the same country.�

Remember when? After Ruth Wysocki upset Mary Slaney in the 1,500 meters at the 1984 U.S. Olympic trials here, she didn’t think it was such a big deal.

“After all, I’ve beaten her under three different names,� said Wysocki, formerly Ruth Kleinsasser and Ruth Caldwell.

Slow motion: After his West Virginia basketball team lost to Massachusetts in the Atlantic 10 Conference title game, Coach Gene Catlett said:

“In the first five minutes, we were a half-step slow on everything. Then in the second five minutes, we were a whole step slow.�

Trivia answer: Four. UCLA’s and USC’s women’s teams won at Pauley Pavilion in 1978 and 1984, respectively, and the UCLA men won at the Sports Arena in 1968 and 1972.

Quotebook: Asked what a victory by Nippon over New Zealand in the America’s Cup challengers’ series would mean back home in Japan, captain and mainsail trimmer Makoto Namba said: “A few years ago when they talked about the America’s Cup, most of the people thought it was a golf tournament.�