Riley Had Another Trick Up His Sleeve

With 32 seconds left at Seattle Saturday, Dale Ellis tried a three-pointer that would have tied the SuperSonics with the Lakers, 118-118.

The ball never got there. Michael Cooper, soaring past a pick by Maurice Lucas, blocked the shot right in front of Laker coach Pat Riley on the sideline.

Said Riley: “If he didn’t block it, I was going to block it.”

New Jersey Coach Dave Wohl, a former Laker aide, said it bothers Riley that he’s known more for his wardrobe than his coaching.

“So much of it is the clothing, the hair, being with Hollywood’s team,” Wohl said. “People think that with all that glossy surface stuff, there’s not much underneath. But what you have to realize is there’s a tremendous amount below the surface.”

Said Pittsburgh pitcher Brian Fisher after getting his first major league hit Sunday, a home run against Cincinnati: “I got a little lucky. The ball hit the bat and jumped out of the park. When it went over the fence I said to myself, ‘What do I do now?’ ”

Now-it-can-be-told dept.: From Peter King of Newsday: “New York Giants’ kicker Raul Allegre made 33 of 33 extra points during the regular season last year, and he made his first 13 extra points of the postseason. He approached his final extra-point attempt of the year--with 4:18 left in the Super Bowl--with this weighty incentive on his mind: If he makes the kick, he earns a $10,000 incentive bonus for converting every extra-point opportunity during the season. He missed. ‘I try not to think about it,’ Allegre said.”

Trivia Time: Who was the last major league pitcher to win and lose 20 games in the same season? (Answer below.)

50 Years Ago Today: On May 25, 1937, Detroit Tigers’ catcher and Manager Mickey Cochrane, who homered his previous time up, was beaned by Bump Hadley of the New York Yankees. Cochrane, his skull fractured in three places, lingered near death for several days before recovering. He never played again.

On this date in 1935, 40-year-old Babe Ruth of the Boston Braves, in his last hurrah, hit three home runs against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field, one of them a monumental smash that landed on the roof in right field. Several days later, he retired.

When Minnesota catcher Tim Laudner got the steal sign Saturday he couldn’t believe it. He came into the game with one career stolen base to his credit.

Detroit couldn’t believe it either. Neither shortstop Alan Trammell nor second baseman Lou Whitaker covered second base, and catcher Mike Heath’s throw went into center field.

Laudner said his previous theft, in early 1986, had the same scenario.

“It caught ‘em by surprise then, too,” he said. “It’s like the invasion of Normandy.”

Trivia Answer: Phil Niekro. He was 21-20 with Atlanta in 1979. The same year, brother Joe Niekro was 21-11 with Houston. They were the only 20-game winners in the National League.

Quotebook

Mychal Thompson, on the difference between the Lakers and the Boston Celtics: “L.A.’s good, and they know it, but they don’t act that way. They run about their business, kick your butt and look good doing it, and go home. Boston rubs your nose in it. It’s easy to get up for the Celtics.”