Ainge Sees Where Inquiring Minds Will Take Him

When Danny Ainge resigned as coach of the Phoenix Suns a year ago Wednesday, he was subjected to all sorts of rumors:

“I heard that my kids were in drug rehab, that I was having an affair, that I was in drug rehab and that I was going through a divorce,” Ainge told Bob Young of the Arizona Republic. “I’ve heard just about everything, and I just have to laugh at it.”

So, why did he resign when the Suns had a 13-7 record?

“Ultimately, I felt that what I was doing--coaching basketball--had no redeeming value. . . . I was missing out on too many things that were important to me.”

*

Trivia time: What is the largest winning margin in the Rose Bowl game?

*

Mother of all blunders: Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post, on the Texas Rangers signing Alex Rodriguez to a 10-year, $252-million contract:

“What’s breathtaking this time is the majestic size of the blunder the Rangers have pulled. At least when they blunder, they super-size it, Texas style. This takes the French off the hook for the Louisiana Purchase.”

*

Dying game: Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News, on the mega-contract: “Rodriguez gets his money and gets to spend the prime of what will be a golden career in Arlington, Texas.

“He said he wanted to go with a winner. He goes with a team that has won one playoff game in its history. Mike Hampton is another one who said he wanted to be a winner. These guys are living high now, higher than ballplayers ever have.

“Baseball dies a little more, every day.”

*

Say it with flowers: Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland Athletics, on not courting a big-name free agent such as Rodriguez:

“We’ve never been in that position. We wouldn’t know how to operate. I mean, do we get him a corsage?”

*

Lost in the West: New York Knick Coach Jeff Van Gundy on the Clippers, commenting more on the state of the Eastern Conference than the quality of the L.A. team:

“If you put them in the East, they’d be fighting for a playoff spot.”

He’s still a big hit: Tom FitzGerald of the San Francisco Chronicle, quoting reader Jerry Klein of Albany, Calif.: “I see that Tony Gwynn has signed a new contract with an incentive clause based on plate appearances.

“From the looks of Tony, he must have thought they were dinner plates.”

*

Explanation: Tennessee Titan Coach Jeff Fisher, on allowing kicker Al Del Greco to line up deep behind quarterback Neil O’Donnell when O’Donnell was taking a knee on the final play of Sunday’s 35-3 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals: “I just told them that if we got in a victory situation, I was going to put Al back there and let him feel what it’s like to go on the field without his heart in his throat.”

*

Looking back: On this day in 1929, USC defeated Carnegie Tech, 45-13, at the Coliseum.

The Trojans went on to beat Pittsburgh, 47-14, in the Rose Bowl game.

*

Trivia answer: Michigan defeated Stanford, 49-0, in the inaugural game in 1902, and then beat USC by the same score in 1948.

*

And finally: Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke spent six years playing minor league baseball. His bio in the Florida State football media guide reports that he “owns a .500 average against Roger Clemens [one for two].”

“If Roger hears about this,” says John McGrath of the Tacoma (Wash.) News Tribune, “he’ll barge into the Orange Bowl in fatigues.”