HOTBOX

Sporting News, The, March 15, 1999

Recently, the unlikely trio of Keith Van Horn, David Stern and Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs got together to promote NBA Reading Month. Van Horn even read Green Eggs and Ham to kids from some New York and New Jersey schools. We would like to give some serious props to the trio, the NBA and RIF (Reading is Fundamental) for the program. We figure the NBA, which loves good p.r. almost as much as it loves slicing up $2 billion revenue pies, likes having its players read to kids instead of complaining about this season's shortened, hectic schedule or cursing at a news conference while wearing 12 pounds of metal in your nose and a silly hat. Strike that last one, because everyone likes a silly hat. Just ask Dr. Seuss.

MAKING A LIST: If you're Michael Jordan, which do you think is better--sitting next to Jack Nicholson at a Lakers game or being named one of People's "25 Legends of the Past 25 Years?" You're right, it's probably a toss up, but it sure beats driving the kids to school. Anyway, we think People short-changed the sports world so we offer some legends of our own: Nolan Ryan, Muhammad Ali, Jerry Rice, Lawrence Taylor (because you can't be a a legend unless ya got that hubris--that's excessive pride for you non-mythology buffs), Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. Any of those sports figures would have been better than what the magazine offered from the entertainment industry, such as Goldie Hawn (if you've seen Cactus Flower, we'll give you a dollar), Cher (beyond Moonstruck, she was nothing without Sonny) or Princess Diana (America's fascination with British royalty must be stopped--see War, Revolutionary.)

TALKIN' 'BOUT MY GENERATION: From the what have you been doing since high school files, we offer the following: Erstwhile Bad Boy Rick Mahorn, the man who, along with Bill Laimbeer, made thuggery cool in the '80s with the Pistons, went to high school with Allen Iverson's mom. Mahorn, 40, no doubt could give the talented--but at times troubled--son of a former classmate some pointers on how to have a long NBA career. Tidbits like don't let a referee see you throw an elbow, always get good positioning for rebounds and try to avoid bowling alleys. Whoops, we assume Alien already knows that one.

TRUTH AND DARE: This month, HBO, in the tradition of its fine ABA special, Longshots, the Life and Times of the American Basketball Association, is offering Dare to Compete: The Struggle of Women in Sports. The documentary utilizes still photos and archive footage to examine the history of women and sports--mostly in the United States--and some of the issues that have surrounded women's sports, such as the impact of the AAU, Title IX and the women of professional baseball. Maya Angelou and Lauren Hutton narrate the film written by Mary Carillo and Frank Deford. The documentary debuted last Monday and will be shown again Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET, and again on March 18, 21, 26 and on April 17.