PORT ARTHUR — No matter how many times I visit the Sports Legends Gallery at the Museum of the Gulf Coast, I always walk away shaking my head over the number of big-time athletes who’ve come out of Port Arthur in particular and Southeast Texas in general. Such was the case Friday when Jamaal Charles was posing for photos after Sam Monroe’s announcement of his impending induction. In the one small section of the room where the photos were taken, there were display cases for Frank Eidom, Gary Hammond, Jerry LeVias and Joe Washington. Imagine those guys, in their prime, along with Charles, on the same NFL team. Any sports fan who hasn’t been through that museum is really missing a treat . . . Charles, by the way, admitted that what he went through his first season and a half in Kansas City took away some of his love for football and confidence in his big-play abilities. But that’s all in the rear view mirror. He said there were two plays — a 44-yard touchdown run against Oakland on Nov. 15 and a 97-yard TD return of the opening kickoff against Pittsburgh on Nov. 22 — that helped him start believing in himself again. “I started having fun again and my love for the game was back he said. I can’t wait for next season.” One thing to watch is going to be whether Kansas City does him right contract wise, after signing 31-year-old free agent running back Thomas Jones to a two-year, $5 million deal. According to NFL salary figures published in USA Today, Jamaal made a mere $390,000 last year.

Sad to say, there won’t be any James Gamble Awards this season. The Lincoln coaching legend, though forever grateful to Ray Depwe and so many others who saluted the area’s top schoolboy players in his name, had a difference of opinion on how certain matters were handled  and wrote a letter to Depwe saying he was withdrawing any personal affiliation. The good news is that the area’s top players will again be recognized at what will be known as the Southeast Texas Basketball Awards. The banquet to recognize Southeast Texas’ best is set for April 17 at the Holiday Inn on Jimmy Johnson Blvd . . . Must reading in today’s sports section, if you are a basketball fan, is the piece on the relationship between the area’s two NBA players — Stephen Jackson and Kendrick Perkins — and the adjoining piece on the man who coached them both in high school — PAISD athletic director Andre Boutte. Giving the stories a different perspective is Jon Marks, a free lance writer from Philadelphia who has covered the NBA for years. Marks has made contributions to the Port Arthur News from time to time, and this is one of his best . . . Congratulations are in order for Lamar women’s basketball coach Larry Tidwell and his Lady Cardinals for blowing through the Southland Conference tournament to grab an NCAA bid. Tidwell has not only worked wonders in rebuilding a program that was down and out, but the guy is an absolutely brilliant and tireless promoter. He’ll likely wound up being the best hire LU athletic director Billy Tubbs ever makes in any sport.

Today is selection Sunday for the NCAA Tournament, or as it’s known in many outposts of college basketball — “Let’s-see-how-badly-we-can-screw-the mid-majors day.”  Because an inordinate number of elite programs — starting with North Carolina, UConn, UCLA and Arizona — are in the ditch, and several mid-major leagues have multiple good teams, the little guys are going to get more at-large bids that usual. The committee’s favorite trick, in this type situation, is to pair as many mid-majors against each other as possible in the first round, rather than let them embarrass a middle-of-the pack team from a BCS conference . . . One team to really watch, and see how well the NCAA takes care of them, is Texas. The Longhorns have become a joke, a discombobulated team of high-strung individual talents who couldn’t spell defense if you spotted them the first five letters. Given the way they finished the season, Rick Barnes’ outfit deserves no better than an 8  or 9 seed. But it wouldn’t surprise me if they get as low as a six and wind up in the Houston region, just in case they get the right matchups and win a couple of games. Barnes, incidentally, ought to give half his salary back for doing such a poor job  . . . Wonder how many groans there were in Houston when the Cougars knocked off Memphis Thursday and stormed through to win the Conference USA tournament?  It was going to be tough enough for the anti Tom Penders faction to come up with the $450,000 to buy out his contract. Now there’s no chance. Maybe there’s a lesson for Lamar in Penders getting UH to the NCAAs in his sixth year.

More craziness takes place around the NCAA Tournament, aka March Madness, than probably any other sporting event. High on the list is the amount of gambling it generates, and the throngs who pack Las Vegas sports books to bet on and root for their teams or their money. Jay Rood, who runs the sports and race book for MGM Mirage, estimated to the Philadelphia Inquirer that betting in Nevada casinos on the 48 games played on the opening weekend of the tourney will be in the $75 to $80 million range. For a comparison, wagering in Nevada on the most recent Super Bowl was $82.7 million . . . Fitting in with the March Madness theme is the inordinate number of guys who choose to have vasectomies performed during the opening week of the tournament, so they have a good excuse to stay home and watch all the games.  It’s reached the point where urologists in some parts of the country offer “vasectomy specials” and make a marketing push tied to the tourney’s opening week. One urologist offers free pizza delivery coupons and sports magazines. The Urology Team in Austin — headed by a doctor with the frightening name of Richard Chopp — reportedly had a 40 percent increase in business during last year’s tourney. “It’s a great way for men to get waited on hand and foot while watching sports,” said one urologist . . . For those who pass on a vasectomy as a  way to get out of work, there’s always CBS’ “Boss Button.” The network’s March Madness on Demand streams video on every NCAA tournament game, giving working stiffs a chance to watch from their office computer. The “Boss Button,” for times when you-know-who approaches, quickly replaces basketball with a phony spreadsheet. According to CBS, the “Boss Button” got 2.77 million hits during last year’s tournament.”

Emmitt Smith, ever the businessman, announced via Twitter that he’s opted to have Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones be his presenter at NFL Hall of Fame ceremonies in August. Guess Emmitt’s forgotten how badly Jethro low-balled him in contract negotiations prior to the 1993 season. Smith held out, the defending Super Bowl champs lost their first two games to Washington and Buffalo and Jimmy Johnson nearly went nuts before Jones finally came to his senses. I’ve watched enough of Emmitt since he retired, especially the way he snubbed the Texas Sports Hall of Fame the first time around, to strongly suspect having Jones as a presenter ties in to personal gain. And there’s certainly nothing wrong with that . . . In case you missed it, Las Vegas cocktail waitress Jamie Jungers won Howard Stern’s Tiger Woods Mistress contest. Jungers, a blonde who really isn’t all that hot, collected $75,000. Her edge reportedly came from answers to Stern’s questions on Tiger’s endowments and turn-ons. As for reports that Woods’ first tournament back will be the Masters, I’m skeptical. If he’s going to play in the Masters, it’s hard to believe he wouldn’t play in another tournament as a warm-up. Even for Tiger, jumping right into the Masters after such a long layoff is problematic. I think he’ll play Arnold Palmer’s tourney at Bay Hill . . . No surprise here that Lamar opted to keep Steve Roccaforte as its basketball coach. I think it was the right call, but I don’t think it would have played out that way if the school had had an extra $270,000 lying around. Hopefully Roc can get it back on track next season. Lamar’s gone through too many basketball coaches since Pat Foster left.

Sports editor Bob West can be e-mailed at rdwest@usa.net.