Will King read book of Judges?

It may be true that opposites attract, but Don King-meets-Pope Benedict XVI would seem to be more the invention of film director David Lynch than reality.

But the Big White Hat actually will meet the Really Scary Hair (Twin Peaks?) on Wednesday.

The rope-a-dope-with-the-pope was set up by boxer Luca Messi, who fought on a card promoted by King, and whose brother is a priest.

King, a onetime numbers racketeer who did a four-year stretch for manslaughter, said, "I am standing in the need of prayer. I'm going to ask the pontiff to pray for all of us."

On being a Baptist and getting an audience with the pope, King responded, "The thing is, we're all going before the man on high on Judgment Day."

Someone needs to ask King: Is that "Judgment Day," the Nigel Benn-Chris Eubank super-middleweight title fight in 1993? Or maybe "Judgment Day in Monterrey" in 1994, which featured six title fights?

As for what the flamboyant King will wear, he said, "I'll see what the protocol is."

Fashion tip: Leave those three diamond-encrusted crucifixes at home, Don.

Trivia time

What coach has lost the most NCAA tournament men's division I championship games?

Pugilistic ponderings

One boxing card King has never laid a glove on is the annual Oxford-Cambridge Varsity Match, which celebrated its 100th anniversary two weeks ago. After the 5-4 Oxford victory, former featherweight champion Barry McGuigan wrote in his column for the Daily Mirror in London:

"As I sat at ringside watching the best brains in the country taking lumps out of each other I was struck not only by the commitment of the fighters, but the involvement of the audience. Boxing's essence was revealed, illustrating its unique appeal. There is something about leather in the mouth that connects us to our primal past."

Call it the "Rumble in the Blackboard Jungle," or "The Thrilla for Those Who Study the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty Signed In Manila."

Busted flat in Oxford ...

Among Oxford's boxing alumni is a young Rhodes scholar who later found that freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose. Kris Kristofferson was a light-middleweight on the 1959 team.

Hmm, maybe Bobby McGee was really a police officer?

Cali vs. Indy

The UCLA-Indiana second-round NCAA tournament game conjures up some basketball history.