Playing Time: How Sweet It Is in Kansas

One of sports’ worst candy-holics is Kansas basketball Coach Roy Williams, who keeps one desk drawer full of candy bars.

“I love ‘em,� he said. “My favorites are Butterfingers and Mars bars.�

Last fall, the trim Williams worried that maybe he was eating too much candy.

“I decided to check and see how disciplined I am,� he said.

“I tried to see if I could go 30 days without any dessert (or candy). I did it, Oct. 15 to Nov. 15. Every day, I opened the drawer and just looked at the candy, just teasing myself.�

During a recent interview, Williams was interrupted by a player, C.B. McGrath.

“Coach, I brought some brownies and stuff my Mom made for you,� he said.

Williams’ eyes lit up. “Heyyyyy,� he said. “That’ll get a few extra minutes for you.�

“All right!� McGrath said.

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Trivia time: Why, on July 2, 1921, was a scheduled Jersey City, N.J., baseball doubleheader between Newark and Jersey City called off at game time?

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Top guns: The Ronald McDonald Children’s Charities of Australia group recently charged spectators $1 for three tennis serves against a radar gun, in part to find out how weekend players’ serves compared to pro speeds.

Result: The men’s top gun was clocked at 131 m.p.h., and the women’s winner at 109 m.p.h., both comparable to pros.

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Turkey medal: It’s nearly unanimous that Sunday’s Super Bowl blowout was the biggest turkey in a long list of bad Super Bowls.

But that won’t stop the folks at Environmint of Mount Prospect, Ill., from issuing a limited edition of medallions honoring the 49ers as Super Bowl XXIX champions.

And you’d best order now. Only 25,000 will be minted. And Environmint announces that after the 25,000th is sold, the dies will be destroyed and put on display. Cost: $29.95.

If you want one of the 5,000 24-karat gold medals, the cost is $49.95.

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One more: There will be 194 pure gold medallions packaged in a cherry wood box. Tab: $850.

Finally, Environmint states its silver medallions are environmentally correct. The silver was reclaimed from old movie film.

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Top draw: Kentucky basketball Coach Rick Pitino recently played host to his radio show at a mall in Florence, Ky. A crowd estimated between 2,000 and 4,000 showed up.

Said mall manager Ed Draud: “I’ve never seen quite so many here. Maybe for our Sesame Street characters, or when we brought in soap opera stars. But that was a few years ago. And I think this was bigger, anyway.�

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I-formation: Jim Shea of The Hartford Courant, writing about the Super Bowl halftime show:

“Somehow, these extravaganzas lose something--make that everything--on a 19-inch screen. Sunday’s Indiana Jones takeoff, complete with 1,000 cast members and live snakes, made one long for the good old days when the Ohio State marching band thrilled the crowd by dotting the ‘i’ at midfield.�

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Trivia answer: It was the same day as boxing’s first million-dollar fight, Jack Dempsey vs. Georges Carpentier, in Jersey City. No players showed up. Nor did a single fan.

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Quotebook: Hall of Fame quarterback Otto Graham on the Super Bowl: “When I played, it was just a football game. It’s all big business now. The football game is almost incidental.�