N. Dame, Marquette share legends.(Chicago Tribune)

Digger and Al. Now there was a pair. Notre Dame's Digger Phelps and Marquette's Al McGuire. Showmen both, in love with the spotlight, iconoclastic, irrepressible, con men and basketball coaches too. Center stage was their home, and an edge, any kind of edge, was their aim.

What a history they had together, one that stretched back to 1971, when Phelps, now an ESPN commentator, was the fresh-faced young coach of Fordham. That was the first time he faced off against McGuire, who was already a master manipulator, and so he watched silently early in that game when the wily fox instructed his son _ and point guard _ Allie to curse out the referee.

Phelps didn't understand that move when it occurred, but late in the game there was a scramble and the ball bounded out of bounds, and there was McGuire on his feet and the ref ruling in his favor.

"From that moment on, I never sat down," says Phelps with a chuckle. "I learned that lesson from Al McGuire."

Learned it well, in fact, which he proved in January 1974. He was then at Notre Dame and again faced off against McGuire, whose Warriors (as they were then known) took a quick early lead against an Irish team that was flat. Phelps called a timeout, but the referee didn't know who had called it and looked to the scorer's table for help.

"TV timeout," Phelps yelled.

TV timeout, the ref indicated, and with that McGuire went nuts and picked up a technical.