Julius Erving

The "Bid of Excitement" auction, a major fund-raiser for the Cal State Fullerton athletic department, is scheduled Friday at Titan Pavilion. Former ABA and NBA star Julius Erving will be the keynote speaker. Angel scout Darrell Miller will be the host for the main auction. More than 2,300 items will be sold beginning at 5 p.m. It will continue Saturday at 8 a.m. at the Yorba Linda Costco with a tent sale of additional items.

Philadelphia 76ers owner Harold Katz said Thursday he thought he had a firm deal with Julius Erving and is shocked to learn that Erving is considering an offer from the Utah Jazz. "I want to hear this from Julius," Katz said at Rider College, where the 76er rookies and free agents are playing in a summer league. Katz, who recently returned from a vacation in Europe, said that before he left, he "sat with Doc for an hour-and-a-half, two hours. We had a nice chat.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar defeated Julius Erving, 41-23, Friday night in a 20-minute one-on-one matchup for the benefit of AIDS research. "I started off very poorly," said Erving, who made nine of 44 shots. "I had to settle for the long-range shots and they were not falling." Abdul-Jabbar, who sank 16 of 31, said: "I'm a bigger man and I used it to my advantage. I conditioned for it and I thought I played well."

On a hot summer day in 1976, Pat Williams had a brainstorm. Williams, general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers, called Billy Melchionni, his counterpart with the New York Nets, and asked: "Would you consider trading Julius Erving?" Williams knew that Erving and the Nets were at an impasse in a contract dispute. Erving had refused to report to training camp. Still, Melchionni unhesitatingly told Williams, "No, we wouldn't, but if we change our minds we'll call you." Several weeks later.

There's apparently another way that Andrew Bynum wants to expand his game. And we're not talking about shooting three-pointers. We're talking about his fashion look. After sporting an afro while attending St. Joseph High in Metuchen, N.J., Bynum said after Thursday's practice at the team's facility in El Segundo that he wants to rock that look again. "I want to grow it," Bynum said. "I want to get it back. " Even though Bynum wore a comb pick in his hair following practice, Laker fans shouldn't get their hopes up for the Lakers center to feature the afro during the postseason.

Julius Erving, in his last scheduled visit to Boston Garden, was given a piece of the famed parquet floor Sunday and offered the regrets of Red Auerbach. "We've made some mistakes in the past," said the Boston Celtics' president, "and one of them is that we never had him in Celtic Green."

Cory Erving, the 19-year-old missing son of NBA great Julius Erving, might have had a drug relapse and might be using crack cocaine, the investigating sheriff in Sanford, Fla., said Wednesday. There have been no sightings, but officers are looking into a confrontation the youngster had in a known drug area shortly before he was reported missing. Cory Erving disappeared May 28 on what was supposed to be a 20-minute shopping errand to a Lake Mary mall for a family picnic on Memorial Day weekend.

Former NBA great Julius Erving pleaded for help in finding his 19-year-old son, who has a history of drug problems and has been missing since May 28. "This bad dream has gone on for 16 days now . . . 16 bad days," Erving said Tuesday in Sanford, Fla. "We are in dire need of help." A $25,000 reward was offered for the safe return of Cory Marvin Erving, last seen by his family when he went to a Lake Mary shopping mall, about 20 miles from Orlando.