SPORTS FOLDEROL

  If there was ever a game that didn’t require TV play by play or analysis, Sunday’s gold medal game in men’s hockey was it. And, to its credit, NBC’s veteran crew of   KENNY ALBERT ,   ED OLCZYK   and   BRIAN  BOUCHER   resisted talking too much. From the outset, the U.S. and Canada gave us a clinic in  non-stop action that clearly wasn’t for the faint of heart. And, thankfully, the game officials (like NBC) let them   play  … without, for the most part, interfering. Gosh  knows, there was enough high sticking, roughing,  interference, boarding, hooking – you name it – to last a  lifetime. But NHL referees working the game,  CHRIS ROONEY and  GORD DWYER , swallowed their whistles … which  permitted an incredible pace of play … that also wasn’t  encumbered by fighting (which isn’t allowed in the  Winter Games, subject to a one-game suspension). They called a hooking infraction against Canada’s...

  Briefly Told (at least that’s the plan … ALWAYS subject  to change) ... Brawl? What brawl? Fisticuffs? Get serious! Check it out. From replays seen on the internet, if any  punches were thrown in the final seconds of Saturday’s  VCU-St. Louis basketball game, they were done in  private … and no one was hurt. Mostly, it was a bunch of guys acting like they wanted to  hit someone, nothing more … nothing like last year’s  nastiness in the stands between VCU and St. Louis  fanatics ... sorry ... fans .. . when security did virtually  nothing to break it up.      This time the only participant to worry about was the St.  Louis coach  JOSH SCHERTZ … a beefy, overweight …  OK, fat … man who came running onto the floor, trying  to break the whole thing up … and looking like a ready- made, serious candidate for a heart attack. This time security appeared quickly and, as a unit, placed  itself between the Rams ...

  Not Exactly Briefly Told ... The Fox crew was quick to blame  DENNY HAMLIN  for  Sunday’s “BIG ONE” at Daytona. Trouble was, if you  had to point a finger at anyone, it should have been  impatient  RYAN BLANEY , who tapped Hamlin’s Toyota  from behind, going upwards of 180 miles per hour …  leaving the Manchester High alumnus with no option but  to attempt to squeeze by leader  JUSTIN ALLGAIER  and the wall. (Either that on hit the brakes which would  have guaranteed wiping out much of the field.) But Allgaier was late, trying to block Hamlin. There was  contact. Both spun out, joined by 18 more. The total of 20  was three shy of the track record. “ I wish I could have done better,” Allgaier told Fox. Talk about entertaining! There was another near-Big One  involving Hamlin. The finish was chaotic, with  TYLER  REDDICK  leading one lap, the last, taking the lead with  about a half-lap t...