YANKS WOULD LET DREW WALK AWAY
We were first to alert you last year that scouts were so down on Yankee prospect Drew Henson because of a frightening hitch in his swing. Things aren’t much better this season. We keep hearing that the Yanks would let the $17 million quarterback go back to football if Henson would pay back some of that cash.
And several NFL teams are interested in the former Michigan star. There is a belief that Henson would be selected in the fourth or fifth round of the NFL draft. Those rights would be held for a year in what would amount to a Chad Hutchinson situation.
Henson, to his credit, is still adamant about making it work in MLB. But the clock is ticking. He is 23 and it’s time to get the career in gear. It appears that even if Henson does make it, it will not be as a third baseman (35 errors in 128 games last season), but as a corner outfielder. Henson did hit 18 home runs at Columbus but struck out 151 times. You don’t need Bill James on the payroll to realize that is not good.
Speaking of James, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein has been a big fan of Henson’s since he saw him a couple of years ago in the Arizona Fall League. Perhaps Boston might want to make a run at the multi-talented star. Imagine having Henson and Tom Brady in the same town again.
WIZARD OF AUTOGRAPHS
The best selling autograph during “March Madness” is still the legendary John Wooden. At the young age of 92, Wooden still outsells tournament heroes such as Jimmy Valvano (N.C. State), Dean Smith (North Carolina), Bill Walton (UCLA), Tubby Smith (Kentucky), Bobby Hurley (Duke) and Allen Iverson (Georgetown).
VP of Sales for Grandstand Sports & Memorabilia, Pat Tully (www.grandstandsports.com) says the requests for Wooden are still at a premium as he remains a college basketball icon.
WHO YOU GONNA CALL?
Our private phone lines were burning last Monday. First Manhattan College coach Bobby Gonzalez called to object to our observation that his denying media access to his Jaspers for two days following Selection Sunday, in an effort to make them focus more, didn’t help them in a first-round loss against Syracuse. “They played their [butts] off,” Gonzalez argued. As for Gonzo sightings at Saratoga, the Jasper coach said: “I’ve been coaching at Manhattan for four years. I’ve been going to Saratoga for 20. I grew up there. What’s wrong with that? I’m not up there trying to hobnob.”
Pick us a winner, Bobby. Later in the day, Gary Waters reached us to affirm his commitment to Rutgers and vowed to turn the program around. “People gotta be patient,” Waters told us. “You don’t destroy a program for so long a period of time and expect in one day or two you’re gonna turn it around.” Waters, who has a pair of talented 6-4 guards (Quincy Dooby and Marquis Webb) in the fold, believes the Scarlet Knights will be competitive next season. “That will start our foundation,” he said. “I think by the following year, this thing will be in place.”
LOTTERY LUNCH
Gary Carter was at Mickey Mantle’s Restaurant on Tuesday afternoon for a luncheon set up for Sterling Bank by Steiner Sports Marketing. Following the event, he met with members of the media. Carter loves to reminisce, but since he had to catch a flight back to West Palm Beach, it was an abbreviated media session.
Rushing out the door, the Kid was stopped by about a half-dozen high school kids from Terre Haute, Ind. and their teacher. They were on an East coast trip, and guess where they were going later that afternoon following their Big Apple visit? Cooperstown, to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame. Carter spent time signing autographs and chatting yet still made his flight. What were the odds these young fans would run into the newest Hall of Famer? Only in New York, right Cindy. No, they did not run into Eddie Murray upstate.
LONG GREY LINE
Dan Browne, 27, graduated from West Point in 1997 and has gone on to become one of the country’s leading long-distance and marathon runners. Browne is one of the top contenders in Saturday’s $20,000 USA Men’s 8K Championships in Central Park. Browne plans to return to West Point or what he calls “his rockbound highland home.” The timing of the visit makes his return very special. “It’s been a few years since I’ve been back there and I honestly won’t know exactly how I’ll feel until I get there,” says Browne, who is currently a captain in the Oregon National Guard. “I just feel like it’s something I need to do right now.” Godspeed.
POSTSCRIPTS
Congratulations to Sondra Fortunato (a.k.a. Miss Liberty, Miss Big Blue, Miss Super Bowl, Miss World Series). She’s being honored Apri1 10 at the Fiesta in Wood-Ridge, N.J. by the NFLPA – a first for a female . . . Real-estate queen Barbara Corcoran has a best seller in her book, “Use What You’ve Got & Other Business Lessons I Learned From My Mom.” Barbara quips: “It was accomplished the hard way – without the controversial David Wells pitching it.”
Giants LB Dhani Jones will be PENCIL’s Principal For A Day on Thursday at Erasmus High School in Brooklyn . . . Nominees for the 2003 Laureus World Sports Awards were announced this week at a global press conference. Among the nominees were eight Americans, more than any other nationality. Serena Williams and Marion Jones were nominated for World Sportswoman of the Year; Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong were selected for World Sportsman of the Year, and Pete Sampras was tabbed for World Comeback of the Year.