BYU PRESIDENT Rex Lee has a good idea why Dick Schultz, the executive director of the NCAA, appointed him last spring to chair a committee that would examine ways the NCAA could streamline its procedures for investigating alleged infractions.
"The first time I met Dick Schultz I mentioned it was an area that might be looked into. That may have influenced his decision to appoint me," joked Lee."It was either that or they did it on good looks."Lee's 9-member committee recently made several recommendations to Schultz, all of them designed to speed up the NCAA's investigation-and-enforcement system and make it as painless as possible.
"We found that in many instances that even more serious than the infraction itself was the day after day adverse publicity because the procedure took so long. An investigation could last two years," said Lee. "What we've recommended is a way to provide for a quick resolution of what the facts are and, if there is agreement, go immediately to the infractions committee for a judgment. The whole process can be done, all finished, within three or four months."
Lee, once the U.S. government's chief attorney as Solicitor General, said his committee also recommended tape-recorded interviews, open hearings, and the hiring of retired court judges to hear evidence in contested cases.
As for Lee, he said he hasn't made any further suggestions to Schultz.
EVERYTHING BUT THE TRUTH:
In "The Jordan Rules," the highly publicized book written by Chicago Tribune sports writer Sam Smith about the Chicago Bulls' championship season last year, Smith wrote about the Bulls regular season visit to Salt Lake to play the Jazz. In his account, Smith had several things to say
about Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan, including: That Sloan had "thrown the owner (Larry Miller) out of the locker room in a fit of rage"; that Sloan "lamented to Bulls coaches before the game that he was certain to be fired soon"; and that Sloan, during his days as the Bulls' head coach, "had once thrown a chair at one of his players, Larry Kenon, for being too lethargic on the court."
Sloan said the only objection he has to all of the above allegations is that they aren't true.
"None of that is true. His facts are totally out of line," said Sloan. "I don't know where he got his information. He must have heard things second- or third-hand. If you're going to write a book and use second-hand information, that's pretty sorry, and it's not fair.
"What's my reaction? My reaction is that I don't trust people."
HIGH PRAISE: In a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, former Marquette coach Al McGuire said of Utah coach Rick Majerus, "I truly believe he is the greatest mind in the world of basketball. If any coach is poised for the '90s, it's Rick."
The article chronicled the longtime friendship between McGuire and Majerus, beginning in the late '60s at Marquette when McGuire was the coach and Majerus, after a brief playing career, joined McGuire's staff.
"When the Final Four comes - which it will for Rick Majerus - I'll be there," said McGuire.
Of McGuire, Majerus told the Times, "I owe Al a great debt. I would hope that I would mean one-tenth to my team as much as Al meant to our team."
ADD MAJERUS: Describing to Times writer Gene Wojciechowski his 5-hour, 55-minute effort in the San Antonio Marathon, Majerus said: "Me running a marathon is like Orson Welles doing the pole vault."
A NEW JORDAN: If you've noticed that Michael Jordan's tongue isn't hanging out of his mouth as much these days, it's because it isn't. The Chicago Bulls star has decided to try wearing a mouthpiece to keep his tongue where it belongs.
"It was a bad habit," said Jordan. "Recently my little boy has been going around the house sticking his tongue out. He's copying me. I don't think it looks nice."
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Houston Rockets forward Vernon Maxwell, after getting a raise to $1.6 million this year: "They'll get a lot more hustle out of me than if I were still making $270,000."