UCLA coach just a bit Capri-cious

By Larry Stewart

Los Angeles Times

The honeymooners have returned to Orange County, Calif. Former UCLA basketball coach Steve Lavin and his bride, Mary Jarou, were married Aug. 17 on the island of Capri off the coast of Italy, and then honeymooned in various parts of Europe.

The couple, who met several years ago in Jerry Buss' suite at a Los Angeles Lakers game, originally planned to get married at the Montage Resort in Laguna Beach, Calif. But the number of affirmative RSVPs far exceeded expectations, and Lavin says the number also exceeded the seating capacity of the Montage's Grand Ballroom.

So the couple e-mailed guests about five weeks before the event that their wedding plans had changed and they were off to Europe to get married. That resulted in bloggers having a field day.

"I know this," Lavin told Dave Albee of the Marin Independent Journal, "I'm definitely not coming back in my next life as a wedding coordinator."

Trivia time: In Lavin's seven seasons as the head coach at UCLA, what was his record in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament?

Concerns eased: Mitch Dimkich, a football star at UCLA in the early 1960s, was among alums becoming quite concerned about the Bruins' game against Notre Dame Oct. 6, although those concerns were eased a little by the 44-31 victory over Washington on Saturday night.

"I was worried we might be Notre Dame's only win of the year," Dimkich said.

Another Irish shot: A dedication ceremony was held Saturday morning for an Ara Parseghian statue located outside Notre Dame Stadium.

"So where are they going to put the statue of Charlie Weis, in the cafeteria?" wrote Steve Schrader of the Detroit Free Press.

Color commentary: The Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday wore throwback jerseys that were gold and powder blue. The Eagles were leading the Detroit Lions, 35-7, in the second quarter when Andrew Siciliano, the host of the DirecTV Sunday Ticket "Red Zone" channel, said, "They look like UCLA, but they're playing like USC."

Age difference: About 1,000 people attended Sunday's open house at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., where they got a complimentary breakfast and were allowed to walk on the new synthetic Cushion Track racing surface before Wednesday's opening of the Oak Tree meet.

Hall of Fame jockeys Julie Krone and Laffit Pincay Jr. were there, and Krone, 44, who for years rode on the East Coast, talked about her first Oak Tree win. It came aboard Halfbridled in the Oak Leaf Stakes on opening day in 2003.

Getting in a jab at Pincay, who turns 61 on Dec. 29, Krone noted, "I was 6 years old when Laffit got his first win at Oak Tree."

Don't phone home: Northern california reader Bill Littlejohn, noting that beer sales will no longer be available to the general public at Coors Events Center during Colorado basketball games, said, "Next thing you know, you won't be able to make a phone call at AT&T Park during Giants games."

And this: Jay Leno, saying baseball has introduced a new tough rule: "No human growth hormone after the seventh inning."

Trivia answer: 10-1.

And finally: Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb said last week on HBO's "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel" that black quarterbacks endure more criticism and scrutiny than their white counterparts do. Responded Dwight Perry of The Seattle Times: "Rex Grossman could not be revived for comment."