He Can Always Be Described as Hard-Bitten

Lucky for University of Pittsburgh basketball center Mark Blount that a certain teammate isn’t a vampire.

Blount is expected to sit out at least two weeks of play after he was accidentally bitten on the wrist by Andre Howard during practice last Thursday.

The wound became infected and Blount spent three days in a hospital.

Blount leads the Big East in blocked shots with 3.4 a game and ranks third in the conference in rebounding at 9.1 a game.

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Trivia time: Which NFL team has the best postseason record?

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Magic (oops) touch: The Florida Panthers were honored Saturday when the Lakers’ Shaquille O’Neal, at the Forum to get treatment on his sprained ankle, visited their locker room and wished them luck. It must have worked, because they trounced the Kings, 5-0.

“He Kazaamed us,” Florida goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck said. Asked if he returned the favor by giving O’Neal any advice on free throw shooting, the 5-foot-8 Vanbiesbrouck laughed and said: “He palmed my head.”

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Extreme measures: New York Ranger goaltender Mike Richter says NHL referees are doing a decent job policing forwards who try to interfere with goalies, but he has a better idea for keeping crease crashers away.

“My feeling is barbed wire would do it,” he said.

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Crisis center: Jaguar center Dave Widell, a former Bronco, after Jacksonville’s victory Saturday: “They’re going to open up the suicide hot lines tonight in Denver.”

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Pro invasion: USC basketball Coach Henry Bibby when asked about high school recruiting recently on Irv Kaze’s radio show on KIEV:

“We’re not just competing against colleges, but we’re also competing against the NBA for the top kids.”

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Absentees: Bob Verdi of the Chicago Tribune on Green Bay’s incredibly loyal fans: “Only three tickets were unused for Saturday’s squall, and they better have notes from their doctors at the next board meeting.”

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The F factor: Jerry Magee in the San Diego Union-Tribune on Tom Walsh, the new football coach at Idaho State: “Walsh already leads the NCAA in alliteration. ‘Fast, focus, flexible, fun, family and futuristic,’ Walsh said of of his planned emphasis at Idaho State.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1984, the Raiders defeated the Seattle Seahawks, 30-14, at the Coliseum in the AFC championship game before a crowd of 91,445. The Raiders went on to defeat the Washington Redskins, 38-9, in Super Bowl XVIII, the last time an AFC team won the NFL title game.

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Trivia answer: The Green Bay Packers, 18 wins, eight losses, 69.2%.

Of course, tied at 100% are Jacksonville (2-0) and Carolina (1-0).

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And finally: Blackie Sherrod in the Dallas Morning News recalling promoter Don King fawning on then-champion Larry Holmes: “ ‘I love you like I love my son.’ Said Holmes: ‘I don’t want you to love me like a son. I want you to love me like you love you.’ ”