CLIPPERS' BROWN FROWNS ON RUMORS SENDING HIM TO UCLA

Larry Brown, the original Happy Wanderer, continues to draw attention as a possible replacement for Jim Harrick at UCLA. But last week Brown, who has had a tumultuous season this year coaching the Clippers, told L.A. writers that it isn't fair to either party to speculate about Brown's return to UCLA.

"I have a job," said Brown. "I feel bad for him. I'm living in the same town. I've said a hundred times that I thought he's done a great job, and I thought they made a great choice and that's it."Brown continued, "(The rumors are) embarrassing. It's not fair to Mr. (Donald T.)Sterling (the Clippers' owner); it's not fair to UCLA; it's not fair to Jim Harrick."

Brown added that he isn't likely to be seen at a UCLA game in the near future, either. "I want to go to Pauley to see a game and I won't ever go over there (because of the stir it would cause). That was an important part of my life," he told Dave Strege of the Orange County Register.

"I would just like to see people give him a chance and have him not worry about the rumors. Nobody can stop those things, but I'm not doing anything to give them any credibility."

However, considering Brown's history of job-jumping, just being Larry Brown gives the rumors a credibility all their own.

You haven't lived, says Jazz center Mike Brown, until you've tried the "Brown Bear Burger."

The Bear Burger includes mustard, catchup, sauteed onions and fries heaped on top of the sandwich, and it's available at Brown Bear's Burgers and Dogs, scheduled to open Wednesday at 2223 Highland in the Sugar House Center.

Brown says the menu also includes foot-long hot dogs. "When I'm not cookin' on the court, I'm cookin' off the court," he said.

Grand Opening is Saturday.

The nasty saga of Bernard King and Washington coach Wes Unseld ended recently in the waiving of the 36-year-old King. Stories claimed King had a shouting match with Unseld after King demanded to be reinstated in the starting lineup. Other reports included King shoving Unseld and threatening him at practice.

On KMPC-AM radio in Los Angeles, radio host Doug Kirkorian and co-host Joe McDonnell interviewed Lakers' assistant G.M. Mitch Kupchak, who once played with Unseld. According to the L.A. Daily News, here's how the conversation went:

Kirkorian: We only have 20 seconds left, so tell me, who wins the Wes Unseld-Bernard King fight?

Kupchak: It doesn't have to take 20 seconds. It takes two seconds. Wes Unseld.

McDonnell: Unless Bernard did come back with a gun like he said he was going to.

Kupchak: I'll still take Wes Unseld.

AND THEN SOME: Jazz forward Larry Krystkowiak on the difference between playing in Milwaukee and Utah: "Back there, when we'd WIN a couple of games in a row people would ask what's wrong with us."

This column includes materials gathered from outside news sources.