Hal McRae Has a Little Advice for a Prospect

Brian McRae, 19-year-old son of Hal McRae, reported to the camp of his dad’s club, the Kansas City Royals, Saturday at Fort Myers, Fla.

Brian, the Royals’ No. 1 pick out of high school in 1985, batted .269 last summer as an infielder with Sarasota of the Florida Instructional League.

Asked if he had received any advice from his 39-year-old father, Brian said he had.

And what were the first words of advice?

“Stay out of the hotel bar.”

How rich is Stephen Ross, the Miami and New York real estate developer who has agreed to pump a few million dollars into the Baltimore Stars to keep the USFL team afloat?.

Bugsy Engelberg, general manager of the Orlando Renegades, told Larry Guest of the Orlando Sentinel: “The other half of New York that Donald Trump doesn’t own, Ross owns. When they play Monopoly, they play with real buildings.”

Trivia Time: Who was known as “The Owl Without the Vowel”?

Boo, Hiss: When Cedric Maxwell of the Clippers was introduced before Friday night’s game against the Boston Celtics, he got a 45-second ovation from his old fans in Boston Garden.

Among those not clapping, according to Peter May of the Hartford Courant, was Celtic President Red Auerbach.

Add Maxwell: After the Clippers lost the game, 124-108, he said: “We would have been better off playing the Boston Bruins.”

Of the Celtics, he said: “They are a pleasure to watch, but they are hell to play against.”

For What It’s Worth: The Lakers’ Byron Scott went 10 for 10 against Dallas Wednesday night and stretched the string to 12 for 12 after hitting his first two shots against Phoenix Friday night. But those marks are considerably short of the NBA records.

Wilt Chamberlain went 18 for 18 in one game for the Philadelphia 76ers in 1966-67. He also had a streak of 35 straight baskets without a miss over more than one game.

The Flip Side: Howie Dallmar, later the head coach at Stanford, set the NBA record for futility when he went 0 for 15 in a game for the Philadelphia Warriors in 1946-47. Proving it was no fluke, Dallmar again went 0 for 15 a year later.

Red Mihalik of Ford City, Pa, named Saturday to the Basketball Hall of Fame, was an official who worked six NCAA finals and two Olympics.

For years, Mihalik had refused to cooperate in efforts by Dean Smith and the late Adolph Rupp to place him in the Hall of Fame.

“It would have been like bragging,” Mihalik said. “But when the notice arrived at the mailbox, I let out a scream that must have shook up all of Ford City. I’m so excited I can’t eat or sleep.”

He also confessed to a secret ambition.

“The one thing I wanted to do all my life was coach,” said Mihalik, 69. “We’ve got a Special Olympics tournament coming up in Indiana, Pa., and they are going to let me coach.

“And,” he vowed. “I’m going to get thrown out of the game.”

Trivia Answer: Bill Mlkvy, All-American forward for the Temple Owls in 1950-51. That year, he set an NCAA record by scoring 73 points in a game. The record was broken when Frank Selvy of Furman scored 100 points in a game during the 1953-54 season.

Quotebook

Manager Tom Lasorda, asked if he was happy that Pedro Guerrero finally had reported to the Dodgers’ camp: “I’m always happy to see Pedro, no matter when it is.”