– Speaking out: Former Loyola coach Gene Sullivan, a man who has been there, had sympathy for De Paul. ”They`re a young team and were coming on strong at the end of the year,” said Sullivan, who was De Paul`s athletic director before joining the Ramblers. ”They probably played the toughest schedule since I was there.” But Sullivan, who had two 20-win teams at Loyola get left out of the NCAA`s big show, sounded even more sympathetic over Southern Illinois (26-7) not getting a bid. ”I`d really be screaming if I was those guys,” he said. ”They were high in most of the computerized rankings all year. They won their conference outright and then they had to play Illinois State in their tournament final on Illinois State`s floor. It`s awful hard to see how they could take Southwest Missouri, which lost early in its
(Mid-Continent) conference tournament, over Southern.”
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– Handy Randy It didn`t make De Paul fans happier to learn Ohio State, a team the Blue Demons soundly trounced in the early-bird NIT, got into the NCAAs. But the Buckeyes` drive to a bid was a good story. Randy Ayers, OSU`s rookie coach, has done a nice job molding a young team. He had a late start, taking over for Gary Williams in midsummer, and now the playoff pairings have produced a real twist. Ayers` team will meet Providence in the first round. The Friars are coached by Rick Barnes, another Williams assistant who competed with Randy for the Big 10 job.
– Change of venue: Phoenix hopes to land the 1993 Super Bowl, or Super Bowl XXVII for those fans into Roman numerals, when National Football League owners meet this week in Orlando. The Arizona city may get the game, too. San Francisco has dropped from the bidding because of a big TV convention that has gobbled up choice hotel rooms. (Earthquake? What earthquake?) ”We think there`s a good chance it`ll come here,” said Cardinals spokesman Paul Jensen, ”because the other two cities (Los Angeles and San Diego) in the running already have had it.”
– Name that sport: You`re a real sports fan if you know the 10 nominees for this year`s Sullivan Award, which goes to the nation`s top amateur athlete. The winner will be named Monday and here are the candidates: Brandy Johnson, Janet Evans, Bonnie Blair, Wendy Williams, Tamara McKinney, Roger Kingdom, John Lugbill, Lori Norwood, John Smith and Kristine Karlson. OK, hotshots, now that you know the 10 nominees, here`s the real toughie. Can you name their sport? Answer: Johnson, gymnastics; Evans, swimming; Blair, speedskating;
Williams, diver; McKinney, skier; Kingdom, hurdler; Lugbill, canoe and kayaker; Norwood, modern pentathlete; Smith, wrestling; and Karlson, rowing.
– House divided? Athletes-for-Edgar meet Tuesday in the Bismarck Hotel for their first reception, and among those scheduled to appear are ex-Bears Ronnie Bull, Matt Suhey and Ted Albrecht. Current Bear Jim Covert also will be there along with Johnny Kerr and former De Paul Athletic Director Ed Manetta. Hall of Famer Ray Meyer also will be on hand, but he`s agonizing over the Jim Edgar versus Neil Hartigan race for Illinois governor. Said Ray: ”I like `em both.” Making it more difficult is the fact that his ex-Blue Demon players Joe Ponsetto, Randy Ramsey and Doug Bruno are aligned with Hartigan.
– Curtain call: Yugoslavia has become the 33rd nation to join Little League Baseball and the second Eastern Bloc country. Poland started a program last year but opted not to participate in the European playoffs. You probably can expect more Communist nations to join and that brings up an interesting potential dilemma for officials. What if China wants to join? China and Taiwan are bitter political rivals that don`t recognize each other despite being neighbors-and the Taiwanese have established Little League`s most successful program on the international level. ”We`d just have to evaluate that situation when it occurs,” said Little League spokesman Steve Weller.
– Scribbling: The Willow Creek Community Church has a winning program-brunch lined up for next Saturday morning. Former Giants pitcher Dave Dravecky, whose battle last season with cancer inspired millions, is the speaker-and it`s free. . . . The next big splash ex-Bear Dennis McKinnon will make in Chicago will occur in June, when he marries Joan Johnson of the Johnson Products family. The word is that Rev. Jesse Jackson will perform the ceremony. McKinnon, who says he probably has ”a couple of years left” as a player, and his wife-to-be plan to live in south suburban Olympia Fields. . . . The Continental Basketball Association, which recently passed the million mark in overall attendance, is on target for a seventh consecutive year of record crowds for regular-season games. . . . How`s this for Answer of The Year? When Soviet soccer coach Yuri Morozov was asked on his national team`s recent U.S. trip whether Communist Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev was following the squad`s progress, he replied: ”I think that currently he has enough headaches without worrying about soccer.”
– And finally: Giants punter Sean Landeta is known in Chicago as the man who whiffed on a kick in windy Soldier Field, but in New York`s tabloids he`s known as the guy who has dated Donna Rice and Marla Maples. No wonder he flubs an occasional kick.