Heinsohn Has No Sympathy for O’Neal

So do NBA officials have it in for Shaquille O’Neal? Tom Heinsohn, a former Boston Celtic player and coach who is now a television commentator for the team, doesn’t see it that way.

Peter Vecsey of the New York Post heard this from Heinsohn on a Celtic telecast:

“You cannot establish defensive position on him. He’s allowed to just back in you as forcefully as he wants with this 300-pound body of his. He gets away with more than any big man in league history.

“When’s the last time he was called for a three-second violation? His two feet never leave the lane.”

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Trivia time: John Wooden had three undefeated conference seasons in the Pacific 8. How many did he have overall, counting the Athletic Assn. of Western Universities and the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC)?

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Hand and eye witness: Wilt Chamberlain’s claim that he could throw a football better than any quarterback in the NFL was mentioned in a recent Morning Briefing item.

But Gail Goodrich, who once was on the receiving end of some of Chamberlain’s passes, doesn’t recall anything special.

“One day at practice at Loyola Marymount when Joe Mullaney was the coach, we ended up playing two-on-two football in the gym,” recalled Goodrich, now a studio analyst for NBA TV. “It was Wilt and I against Pat Riley and someone else. I’m not sure who.

“What I remember is how well Riley, a high school All-American quarterback, could throw the ball.

“As for Wilt, I really don’t remember. But I’m sure he threw it better in his mind than he actually did.”

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Marathon women: Another recent Morning Briefing item mentioned that no woman had run a marathon under three hours until Adrienne Beames’ 2:46:30 in 1971.

Chuck DeBus, former coach of the Los Angeles Track Club, called to say that until 1969, women weren’t even allowed to run a race of more than five miles without written permission from the national chairman of women’s track and field.

DeBus said he wrote the legislation that changed the rule.

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Money rankings: Greg Cote of the Miami Herald offers his top five in gross national product: “1. U.S., 2. Japan, 3. Germany, 4. Britain, 5. Left side of the Yankee infield.”

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The critic: Charles Barkley, on TNT, criticized ESPN for its five-part “sex and sports” series and suggested the network examine problems in college athletics instead.

Said partner Ernie Johnson, “I’m sure they’re all taking notes in Bristol.”

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Trivia answer: Eight -- one in the PCC (1956), four in the AAWU (1964, ‘65, ‘67, ‘68) and three in the Pac-8 (1971-73).

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And finally: So how far has UCLA basketball fallen? This from Marques Johnson: “When you’re relying on USC to win its final regular-season game in order for you just to make it into the Pac-10 tournament, well, as a former Bruin, that doesn’t sit too well.”

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Larry Stewart can be reached at [email protected].