For Miners’ Coach, Losing Voice Is a Major Problem

Perhaps “The Bear” should try some warm honey.

Don Haskins, the Texas El Paso basketball coach who earned the grizzly nickname because of his courtside growl, will have to stay away from his team for as long as two weeks because of a severe case of laryngitis.

After Wednesday’s victory over Creighton, Haskins, who has coached the Miners for 29 years, said he felt “useless” because his voice was barely audible. Assistant coaches Norm Ellenberger, Russ Bradburd, Greg Lackey and G. Ray Johnson will run the team.

Tuesday, Haskins had said he would refrain from yelling at his players and officials for the rest of the season. During Wednesday’s game, he yelled at his players twice during timeouts, but let Ellenberger do most of the talking.

Trivia time: If the University of Oklahoma basketball team wins 30 games this season for the third consecutive time, it will match the NCAA record of which school?

All shook up: Power forward Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz portrays Elijeah Abel, the first black man to live in Utah, in the film “Rockwell.”

“It’s a great movie,” Malone says. “A great movie, and you know why? Because it’s action-packed. From the opening scene, there’s action. I’m really excited.”

Did Malone take acting lessons for the role?

“I’ve thought about Elvis,” Malone said. “He didn’t take acting lessons, either.”

Add NBA: Most NBA players who wear nylon tights under their game shorts say they do so to keep their hamstring muscles warm. Others say such shorts are fashionable.

Dallas Maverick forward Adrian Dantley said: “The only reason guys wear them is because they have a fat butt or their thighs aren’t real toned. Rick Mahorn used to wear them in Detroit because he hoped it would compress his rear end a little. It’s just like a lady wearing a girdle.”

Last add NBA: The Indiana Pacers’ LaSalle Thompson on Coach Dick Versace’s request that he play tougher inside: “I don’t consider myself mean. I don’t cheap-shot guys, I don’t hit above the shoulders. I try to get them in the ribs. Some guys, if they get a chance, they’ll hit you in the mouth, or if you fall down they’ll walk on you. I don’t do that.”

Free lumps of coal: The 1-14 Dallas Cowboys, anticipating a small crowd for today’s game against Green Bay at Texas Stadium, will hold a “Christmas with the Cowboys” promotion. Even the cheerleaders will be dressed as Santa’s helpers.

But a team official said, “It’s still not the kind of day when you throw your family into a car and take them to a football game.”

Add NFL: Rookie cornerback Deion Sanders of the Atlanta Falcons on learning the club’s defensive system: “I just want to go out there and guard my man. Have everyone choose a man and whoever gets beat, gets beat. Simple-ize like that.”

Art, not craft: Tim Burke of the Montreal Daily News says in Hockey Digest that the NHL is undergoing “a complete swing toward defensive, soccer-style hockey.”

Burke says that the Edmonton Oilers with Wayne Gretzky were the epitome of creative, offensive hockey, adding: “The Oilers were the team everyone wanted to watch, a showcase for the league. With at least two more Stanley Cups left in them had Gretzky not been peddled away, art would have prevailed over craftsmanship.”

Trivia answer: The University of Kentucky, 1947-49.

Quotebook: Chuck Knox, 61, coach of the Seattle Seahawks, on the hiring of George Allen, 71, as coach by Cal State Long Beach: “He gives great credence to the adage that age is only a number. All of us old guys appreciate that.”