Meet Sparty, the Michigan State mascot whose forearms make Popeye look like Olive Oyl.
On second thought, you can’t meet him. Or her. They wouldn’t let me put his/her name in the paper.
It’s just as well. You don’t really meet Sparty anyway. You sort of, well, smell him/her. Stuff happens when you work in a suit disguised as a sauna.
So, Sparty, do you do any stretching before you hit the court in that thing?
“Getting it on is stretching enough,” Sparty said. “It’s about 45 pounds of extra weight. When I’ve got the costume on, it’s about 40 degrees hotter inside than outside.
“My roommates at the hotel hate me. I had it airing out last night. We were spraying it with Febreze like crazy. I wish there was a better way to make it not smell. I wash it every two weeks, but it still has a little stench to it.” . . .
The happiest man in Our Town on Thursday? Had to be Jud Heathcote. He graduated from Washington State and won 340 games as head coach at Michigan State. “I lucked out,” Heathcote said from his seat behind the MSU bench. “I go wherever Michigan State goes in the tournament, but this year Washington State is here, too.”
Heathcote lives in Spokane, Wash., and has a regular lunch date with Gonzaga coach Mark Few. So where do they go to talk hoops? Where else? Jack & Dan’s, a watering hole owned until last year by Jack Stockton, John’s dad. . . .
Four generations of Washington State head coaches are in town, including Tony Bennett. The others? George Raveling, Bob Greenwood and Dick Bennett, Tony’s dad. Good story involving Greenwood, who has lived in Evergreen for 18 years: He got the gig in Pullman in the early 1970s over — drum roll, please — Eddie Sutton, Jerry Tarkanian and Heathcote, then proceeded to last one season. . . .
Spotted in the stands at The Can: NCAA president Myles Brand, who forever will be remembered for firing Bob Knight at Indiana, and Bill Hanzlik, who forever will be remembered for . . . um, I’ll have to get back to you on that one. We only kid the ones we like, Hanz. . . .
What would your breakfast be without the Top Five List of Schools Producing NBA First- Rounders Since 2000? That would be UConn (eight), Duke and North Carolina (seven), and Michigan State and Florida (six). . . .
Who says the economy is down? Not the woman who bought $225 worth of Final Four paraphernalia at a Pepsi Center concession stand. The hottest selling item in the place? “I wouldn’t say there’s one thing,” said Curtis Jones, the man with the plan behind the counter. “Everything is selling like hot cakes.” Even the $20-something T-shirts? “They’re cheap. At a concert, that same T-shirt would run you $35.” . . .
Michigan State AD Mark Hollis cut his teeth in Our Town as the assistant commissioner of the WAC, whose offices are located in the Tech Center. The best part of living in Denver? “The people, the energy of the city,” Hollis said. “It’s a very vibrant city, a young city.” The worst part? “The combination of traffic and weather on the same day.” . . .
“No connections.” That’s how Steve Willis, who drove down from Montana with five buddies, explained how he was knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door in the absolute worst seat in the arena. We’re talking the Bob Uecker seat, Section 360, Row 15, just south of the roof. Nosebleed heaven for a mere $180 for three sessions. “We paid 60 bucks for seats Nuggets fans pay five bucks for,” Willis said.
Ah, but there’s a bright side, too. “You can definitely see plays developing up here. You don’t get screened out.”
Jim Armstrong: 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com
Big Ten means show business
Sparty’s five coolest mascots in sports:
1. Sparty. Well, duh. You were expecting a Wolverine?
2. Bucky Badger. “Got to give Bucky the love. He’s really creative when he’s in costume. Anything goes with him.”
3. Benny the (Chicago) Bull. “I watch a lot of video on him. A lot of other mascots copy what he does.”
4. The Phillie Phanatic. “Driving that four-wheeler is good stuff.”
5. Hooper (Detroit Pistons). “He’s kind of like a big, clumsy horse who trips around a lot. He’s really good at making the crowd laugh. That’s why you’re there, to entertain the crowd. You didn’t pay to get in.”
Jim Armstrong, John Leyba photo, The Denver Post
