They ask Tigers to change their stripes

While the Tigers of Missouri were preparing to face the Tigers of Memphis in the third round of the NCAA men’s tournament, the lawyers representing Missouri turned their attention to the Tigers of Harrisburg School District in southeastern South Dakota.

Collegiate Licensing Co., which handles trademarks for the NCAA, contacted the high school about its logo, calling it “confusingly similar� to the one used by Missouri, and suggested the school stop using it. Harrisburg agreed to phase out the existing logo, although 11 South Dakota schools have tigers for their mascots. Meanwhile, Harrisburg senior Jessa Knust wonders what the fuss is all about. “It’s just a small school in South Dakota,� she said. “I don’t know why they care so much.�

Trivia time

Name five major college football teams that are nicknamed the Tigers.

Same schools, different result

Thirty-eight years ago today, UCLA defeated Villanova, 68-62, for the 1971 NCAA basketball championship, the Bruins’ fifth consecutive title. Steve Patterson was the man in the middle on that team, succeeding Lew Alcindor and before Bill Walton.

Patterson stepped up in the championship game, scoring 20 points in the first half en route to 29 for the game, earning him Championship Team honors.

And he didn’t tear his rotator cuff

Last season, the Miami Dolphins finished 11-5 and Chad Pennington was NFL comeback player of the year. And, yes, that was him trading baseline shots with Nadia Petrova, the ninth-ranked women’s tennis player in the world, at the Sony Ericsson Open.

Pennington hadn’t picked up a racket since college, saying, “I’m just going to try to get one over the net.� Pennington accomplished that more than a few times, thanks to Petrova hitting the ball at half speed. After their 10-minute session, Petrova was polite in her assessment of Pennington’s game: “He kept the ball going.�

Quipped Pennington: “It’s part of playing quarterback -- you act like you know what you’re doing, but inside you have no idea.�

Trivia answer

Auburn, Clemson, Louisiana State, Memphis and Missouri.

And finally

Wyoming’s Adam Waddell, to ESPN, on landing on his back and neck after a missed breakaway dunk in the CBI tournament: “I’m thinking in the air, ‘I think I’m going to be in the hospital in about two minutes.’ �

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