Kemp Richardson

Eighteen years ago, when Bill O'Connor, a Beverly Hills real estate developer, was storming the Los Angeles amateur golf circuit with huge tee shots and a hearty sense of humor, he noticed a kid named Craig Anderson hanging around his country club. O'Connor was on his way to winning more than two dozen amateur titles. Anderson, 15 at the time, was three years shy of a golf scholarship at USC.

Cincinnati basketball Coach Bob Huggins is making progress in his recovery from a heart attack and is expected to be released from the hospital by the end of the week. The 49-year-old coach was in stable condition at the Medical Center in Beaver, Pa., hospital spokesman Scott Monit said Monday. Huggins was in serious but stable condition on Sunday. Cincinnati sports information director Tom Hathaway said Huggins probably will spend another four to six days in the hospital before coming home.

Fresno State was put on NCAA probation for four years Wednesday for violations involving academic fraud, recruiting and eligibility. The NCAA Infractions Committee also found a lack of institutional control. Fresno State banned its men's basketball program from postseason play last season after learning that a former team statistician and an academic advisor helped three former players cheat on course work.

Don Andersen believes it has been too long since Orange County last played host to a PGA Tour event, and this week he hopes to do something about it. Andersen, executive director of the Orange County Sports Assn., says his organization is nearing a deal to bring a Senior PGA Tour event to the county in March. "It would be a spectacular event in the county," Andersen said. "There is such a big interest in golf in the county and there has been such a lack of tournament golf in the area."

Boston Celtic forward Vin Baker says he is a recovering alcoholic who used to binge in hotel rooms and at home after playing poorly. In an interview in Thursday's Boston Globe, Baker said Celtic Coach Jim O'Brien smelled alcohol on him in practice and confronted him about it in December and January. The team suspended him Feb. 27 and he didn't play again. Baker, who will turn 32 in November, said he has not had a drink for six months. He sought treatment at a program at the team's insistence.

Golfer Kemp Richardson is chasing a share of history in the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship beginning today at Bel-Air Country Club. Richardson, the defending champion, is seeking his third senior amateur title, which would match the record held by Lewis Oehmig, who won in 1972, '76 and '85. He would also join Merrill Carlsmith, who won in '62 and '63; Curtis Person, '68 and '69, and William Campbell, '79 and '80, as the only players to win consecutive championships.

Steve Conway of Dove Canyon shot a tournament-low 69 in the second round of stroke play at the California Amateur Championship Tuesday at Pebble Beach Golf Links and tied defending champion Ed Cuff Jr. of Temecula for first place with a two-day total of 142. Conway, who will be a senior at Santa Margarita High in the fall, lost a playoff for medalist honors and the No. 1 seeding in the 32-player match-play field when Cuff parred the first extra hole.

The Shearson Lehman Hutton Open historically is a golf tournament ruled by scores far under par, in which two strokes can mean a difference of not just one place but several. Putting takes on added importance in this atmosphere, the shortest shot making a big difference. No wonder so many of the 13 players bunched within two shots of the lead after Thursday's opening round gave credit to their putters, starting with co-leaders Rick Fehr and Bob Eastwood.

The makeover of Mile Square Golf Course in Fountain Valley is underway, and it's expected that a second 18-hole layout will open next spring. Since June, earthmoving equipment has been scouring the piece of land north of the existing course, shaping the fairways and digging eight lakes. Work on the irrigation system will start this week and there is about one more month of grading work remaining before they start planting grass.

The most important rule in coaching is that you never, ever, predict that your team will win. If you're a baseball manager and the top of your lineup reads, "Mays, Mantle, Ruth and DiMaggio," and you're playing against the Lancaster Cub Scouts, Den No. 14, you say something like, "Well, we've got a chance against 'em, but I'm afraid of their pitcher, Scout Johnson. He's got a real live fastball for a 7-year-old."