9001100009 DETROIT FREE PRESS 900309 Friday, March 09, 1990 METRO FINAL

SPT

1D Photo : Calm down, Gene . . . Gene? Jim as Scott Jim as Jim Twang that guitar . . . Mario? Jud Heathcote Jud Bunker MITCH ALBOM Copyright (c) 1990, Detroit Free Press WHO'D HAVE FORESEEN CINDERELLA SPARTANS? THE LIVE ALBOM: * You want to know why I hate predictions? As I write this, Buster Douglas is heavyweight champ, Michigan State will play for a title, we might or might not have baseball, and Bob Probert is back on skates. * I'd have been wrong on all four. * Ahem. Spartans 76, Boilermakers 71. You don't mess with Cinderella. * Speaking of Sunday's game, you know at some point the refs will make a questionable call and Gene Keady, as usual, will go ape. * No matter what happens to Michigan, a salute to seniors Rumeal Robinson and Terry Mills, who for three years have endured shameful chants of "S-A-T!" and "Prop 48!" and proved them wrong. * Do I hear correctly? Jim Valvano says he shouldn't be held responsible for his players' alleged point shaving? Hey, Jim. Parents are responsible for their kids, sergeants are responsible for their soldiers, presidents are responsible for their staffs. Grow up. Who recruited those kids, anyhow? * Speaking of Valvano, word is he already has signed to play Scott Baio in the sequel to the TV show "Charles in Charge." This time they're calling it "Jimmy in Trouble." * What if baseball comes back, but we don't? * Really. I've tried to be patient, but if I hear Donald Fehr's voice one more time, I'm going to yank the radio out of the car. * Here I am thinking the NFL is really tough, and along comes the Iditarod dog sled race, where mushers get attacked by mooses. * Mooses? * Whatever Akeem Olajuwon eats, I want some. * Hey, I know some folks say Mario Lemieux doesn't try hard all the time. But he did a nice job at the Grammy Awards, singing under his alias, k.d. lang. * Like everyone around here, I hope the Wings make the playoffs. But then what? I mean, it's not like it gets easier. * By the way, I want to thank the folks who made our roast of Jacques Demers to benefit kids at the Center for Creative Studies a big success. Glen Hanlon, Shawn Burr, Bernie Federko and Steve Yzerman showed a lot of guts jabbing their coach in front of 250 guests. Jacques made them skate in the corner the next day. * Isn't popularity funny? Everyone seemed to forget about Jud Heathcote the last few years and now, it's as if they're discovering him all over again. * Of course, fame is hardly new to Heathcote, considering the time he spent as Archie on "All in the Family." ANECDOTE