RIP Norman Dale, Woj sells his tools, and how much does a crosscheck cost?

America lost its favorite fictional high school basketball coach this week when Gene Hackman died at 95-years-old.

Hackman memorably played Lex Luthor, Jimmy Doyle, Royal Tenenbaum, Little Bill and Harry Zimm among many others.

But he was Norman Dale, the troubled basketball coach looking for a new start in tiny Hickory, Indiana.

“Hoosiers” is based on a true story, but the movie version became the legend. Every time a small school in any sport starts making a postseason run it’s fictionalized Hickory, not actual Milan, Indiana that gets remembered.

That’s all because of Hackman. Dennis Hopper got the movie’s only Oscar nomination for best supporting actor. But awards aside, this was Hackman’s movie.

It forever changed the standard for playing an inspirational coach. There’s a little Norman Dale in Kurt Russell’s portrayal of Herb Brooks and Denzel Washington’s Herman Boone. Hackman’s Jimmy McGinty in “The Replacements” is almost a parody of his Norman Dale.

Hackman was among the most compelling and charming screen presences of the last 60 years. He infused those traits so effectively into Norman Dale that it was easy to miss that tactically, Dale wasn’t actually a very good basketball coach. A good motivator and a credible leader perhaps, but as far as basketball strategy, maybe those angry guys in the barbershop had a point.

It’s OK to ignore that that Dale’s four-passes-before-a-shot rule was tactically foolish because it made for effective storytelling.

But Hickory had the ball in a tie game and a chance to win the state championship on the last shot with Farmtown Steph Curry on his team. Instead, in the timeout he makes Jimmy Chitwood a decoy so Merl could take the last shot?

If Jimmy hadn’t joined the team midseason, Norman Dale would have been fired. If Jimmy doesn’t talk him out of that absurd final play, Hickory loses the game.

Jimmy Chitwood is the hero of the story. But Hackman is why we love the movie.

He’s why we choke up when he says “I love you guys” in the locker room at halftime. His trademark smirk and the twinkle in his eye forced you to forget everything else.

Hackman played the role with such gravitas that dramatic high school coaches around the country have spent the last 30 years reenacting his measure-the-floor, measure-the-height-of-the-hoop scene before big games.

He was so good as a coach that people bought tickets to see “The Replacements” in the theater, at least partially to watch him play a coach again.

How much is a crosscheck to the head worth?

Few things that better illustrate the difference in pay between the NHL and the PWHL than the fines.

Philadelphia’s Scott Laughton was fined $5,000 for a crosscheck to the head on Jan. 17. On Tuesday, the PWHL announced:

“The Player Safety Committee determined that Brandt delivered a dangerous cross check to the head of opponent Brooke Hobson that went unpenalized during play. … After a review by the PWHL Player Safety Committee, Boston Fleet forward Hannah Brandt has been fined $250.“

Real Jeopardy! Answer

Sports clues from actual editions of America’s favorite quiz show. As always, mind the date:

SPORTS QUOTES for $500 (Jan. 15, 1986): “Show me a good loser & I’ll show you a loser” said this legendary Boston Celtics coach

Somebody’s gonna score when he’s on ice

After registering a -4 in Thursday’s loss to St. Louis, Alex Ovechkin is +63 in his career. He’s also the NHL’s all-time leader in empty net goals with 63.

In other words, when he’s on the ice, somebody is going to score.

Woj bomb launcher?

To raise money for his alma mater/employer, retired hoop scooper Adrian Wojnarowski is selling his old iPhones and some of his media credentials. As of this week, the iPhone he used to break the Paul George to the Clippers news has a bid for $2,500. If the phones still have his contacts in there, that’s a bargain. If not, it’s just a used iPhone.

Related, if you’d like to bid on my credential from last month’s UMass-Northeastern hockey game or my 2017 Android, Click here.

The Top 5

Top 5 MILB team names

5 — Rome Emperors

4 — Sugar Land Space Cowboys – If they made their alternate name the “Gangsters of Love,” they’d be No. 1. And it’s criminal that they’re mascot isn’t named Maurice.

3 —Binghamton Rumble Ponies

2 — Rocket City Trash Pandas

1 — Albuquerque Isotopes

Honorable mention: The Binghamton Bathtub Donkeys, which are the Rumble Ponies rebellious alternative identity in honor of a New York law that said donkeys can’t sleep in bathtubs.

Does this column need a name?

I’m going to do this most, if not every, Fridays with a similar format. I hate overly or contrived names, but since it’s a little different than my usual stuff…

I was thinking of Friday sliders, like the mini-burgers, but I thought it would confuse people who were thinking of the breaking pitch or perhaps a collection of things skidding downward.

I’m considering Friday Outtakes, but I’m looking for something better.

Send me any good suggestions. If I use your suggestion, I’ll send you something from the random collection of weird swag that’s overflowing my office desk drawer.