By Dennis Hans

In NBA, MLB and PGA, heroic lefties led the way

May 4, 2003 will forever be remembered as "Southpaw Sunday." I have never been more proud of my fellow lefthanders, many of whom had to wait far too long for righthanded coaches to give them the playing time they so obviously deserved.

If you spent that day outdoors, here is what you missed:

- Nick Van Exel rescued the shell-shocked Dallas Mavericks with a bravura 26-point performance in 31 minutes. He provided the confidence and leadership his team desperately needed, thus preventing the worst playoff collapse in NBA history. Nick drained treys, scored on nifty drives, and displayed the best post-up game of any little man in the NBA. In so doing, he saved, for the time being, the job of righthanded coach Don Nelson, who should have played Nick considerably more on Sunday and in the earlier games. If Mavs owner Mark Cuban is as smart as he and I think he is, he'll replace Nellie next season with lefty Avery Johnson, who thirty years from now will, I predict, be remembered as the greatest coach since Phil Jackson. Yep, Phil's a lefty, too.

- Two Portland lefties nearly rained on Nick's parade. If the Trailblazers' righthanded "stars," Bonzi Wells and Rasheed Wallace, had played half as well on Sunday as Damon Stoudamire and Zach Randolph, the Blazers would have won. Early in the series, with the Blazers on the ropes, righthanded coach Maurice Cheeks finally gave Randolph some consistent playing time. The lanky forward with skills to burn turned in one splendid performance after another and helped even the series at three apiece. (Contrary to speedily spreading myth, it was Randolph's play, not Cheeks' rescue of a righthanded girl who forgot the lyrics to the National Anthem, that jumpstarted the Blazers' comeback.) "Mighty Mouse" Stoudamire, despite being relegated to the pine for most of the season, kept himself physically and mentally prepared for an opportunity he didn't know would come. It did, and the lefty shined. He showed that all he needed was a little freedom from the coach and starters' minutes to re-establish himself as a first-rate scoring playmaker.

- In Motown, another lefty player bailed out another righty coach. Rick Carlisle wouldn't have been canned if the Detroit Pistons fell to the eighth-seeded Orlando Magic, but the off-season would not have been pleasant. Fortunately for him, rookie Tayshaun Prince, buried on the bench for most of the regular season, lit up the Magic for 13 second-quarter points on his way to an effortless 20 in 24 minutes. The long, lean, silky smooth Prince calls to mind the legendary George "Iceman" Gervin, who happens to be a Detroit native. I'm not suggesting that Prince is the second coming of Ice; that would be as unfair to him as to all the tall white forwards stuck with the ridiculous label "the next Larry Bird." But Prince has a sweet, side-of-the-head stroke; a quick first step; an easy, extra-long stride; a rich assortment of finishing moves and a deadpan disposition - all hallmarks of the incredible Iceman. (Prince even has the lateral slowness that plagued Ice on D.) Thanks to Tayshaun (and, I suppose, righty teammates Ben Wallace and Chauncey Billups, who chipped in here and there), the Pistons have moved on to Round 2. There they will confront the Philadelphia 76ers, who are led by legendary lefty Derrick Coleman and some skinny righthanded dude whose name escapes me.

- Lefty golfer Steve Flesch had a much better day in New Orleans than righty coach Paul Silas, shooting a sizzling 65 in the final round of the HP Classic to earn a spot in a playoff against righty Bob Estes. Flesch won the tourney with a 35-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole at about the same time that Silas, the likeable leader of the NBA's Hornets, learned he was fired. If only he had played his unsung playoff hero and southpaw shotblocking sensation Jerome Moiso in the fourth quarter of Game Six Friday night, rather than rotund righty Tractor Traylor (who missed critical layups and free throws), the Hornets surely would have beaten the Sixers. That would have set up a Game Seven Sunday showdown and a chance for Moiso to save Silas's job. Alas, it was not to be.

- In baseball, lefty Barry Zito outdueled righty Roger Clemens as the A's shutout the Yankees 2-0. Zito epitomizes all that is wonderful about lefthanders: our grace, humor, playfulness, intelligence, eccentricity, creativity and rhythm. He's an artist on the mound and a free spirit off it. He's everything that the angry, intense and dangerous Clemens is not.

(Late breaking news on manly man Manu: The San Antonio Spurs were playing scared down the stretch Monday night, on the verge of another humiliating collapse against their playoff nemesis, the Los Angeles Lakers. Fortunately, in the off-season they acquired some cajones in the form of Argentinian lefty Manu Ginobili. The fourth quarter turned into "Manu Monday," as Ginobili rescued his shrinking mates by making plays and draining treys.)

Thank you, Barry, Nick, Zach, Damon, Tayshaun and Steve. Because of the athletic artistry you displayed and the clutch performances you delivered, the first Sunday in May will be celebrated forevermore as "Southpaw Sunday."


Dennis Hans, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Lefthanders, fights the good fight for lefties the world over. He can be reached at hans_d@popmail.firn.edu.