Williams's Life And Times Now The Stuff Of Hollywood

The movie's title is "Hitter." The subject is Hall of Famer Ted Williams, who made almost as many headlines with his fiery temperament as with his booming bat in a baseball career spanning four decades.

"I think it should be honest and fair," Williams, 67, said at a news conference in Winter Haven, Fla. "I've had my ups and downs, good and bad, and I think it all should be in there."

The film will be based on Williams's biography, "My Turn at Bat," which was written four years ago. Williams, a special instructor in the Boston Red Red Sox training camp, said he had no idea who would portray him or even whether he would appear personally in the picture.

"However, I know who the bad guys will be," he said, a reference to the fact that he feuded with many Boston writers because of what he considered unfair criticism throughout his career.

Although noted for his often salty language, Williams said the movie ''won't have an R-rating."

"I'll try to keep the four-letter words out of it," joked author John Underwood, who is writing the script.

HOOP ROUNDUP

* A busy day in college basketball:

First, an unusual advertisement appeared in the Lexington (Ky.) Herald- Leader.

"The LSU basketball team and coaching staff congratulate the University of

Kentucky for winning its 36th SEC basketball championship," the quarter-page ad read. "Truly a remarkable accomplishment."

Unpredictable coach Dale Brown of Louisiana State University bought the ad, which cost $680.40.

"We've all been so competitive, we've forgotten to congratulate each other," Brown said. "There should be a spot in every arena for it. You try your best to win. Then you should put an arm around each other."

* Wichita State coach Gene Smithson and his staff were fired after a 14-14 season. Athletic director Lew Perkins, a former assistant AD at the University of Pennsylvania, said the firing of Smithson (155-81 overall at Wichita) was ''probably one of the most difficult professional decisions I've had to make in my life."

Perkins said he decided a new coach was needed because players were leaving the basketball program at an unacceptable rate, home attendance was down and there was apathy in the program and among fans and the media.

* Colgate's 1-24 season - the worst among the nation's Division I schools - has cost Tony Relvas his job as coach. Relvas (14-91 in four seasons) will be succeeded by assistant Joe Baker.