He Always Has Had Reputation of Being a Take-Charge Guy

Those seeking proof that George Karl, coach of the Seattle SuperSonics, isn’t faking his intensity need only look at the 1976 San Antonio Spur media guide. Karl, then known as one of the toughest players in the old American Basketball Assn., listed one of his major goals as “taking three charges a game.”

Trivia time: No team in NBA history has had a 70-victory season. Which team has come the closest?

Road warrior: How did 32-year-old Shane Hill, who spent the past season as a backup offensive lineman at Idaho State, wind up putting off college for more than a decade?

According to the Idaho State Journal, a few things got in Hill’s way: a hitch in the Utah National Guard, two failed marriages, three sons and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Especially the Harley.

“Back then, I was the typical Harley rider,” Hill said. “My life kind of went to pot.”

Enough! In a letter to the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, reader John Tapley of Arlington, Tex., said Dallas Cowboy fans should forgive Leon Lett for his Thanksgiving blunder: “This is the Christmas season, a time for good cheer and forgiveness. After all, Leon spelled backward is Noel!”

Bring a heavy coat: Doug Flutie, the former Boston College and NFL quarterback who now plays for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League, says CFL players have a good deal.

“No mini-camp. And the workdays are 4 1/2 hours rather than eight hours,” he said. “It’s just a lot more enjoyable from day to day. You can sleep until 10 if you want. I go in early, at 11, but the rest of the team shows up around 1 o’clock. You watch films, you practice, and you’re out of there at 5:30.”

Add Flutie: Talk that Florida State quarterback Charlie Ward, this year’s Heisman Trophy winner, must prove his worth as an NFL prospect by participating in the Senior Bowl angers Flutie, who faced similar questions when he won the Heisman in 1984.

“At the end of your college career, you want to go to the all-star games to have fun,” Flutie said. “I remember I decided, ‘I’m going to Hawaii, I’m going to Japan, and I’m going to have fun.’

“It’s ridiculous to go down there (to Mobile, Ala., site of the Senior Bowl). They put you through double sessions with the NFL scouts all over (you), and then you go beat the crap out of each other in a totally meaningless game just to put on an exhibition for the scouts. That’s crazy.”

Trivia answer: The 1971-72 Lakers, who finished 69-13.

Quotebook: Jimmy Johnson, coach of the Dallas Cowboys: “If I didn’t enjoy gloating so much, I probably wouldn’t do as many interviews.”