Lemieux Best When He Feels Like Playing

Who is the better player, the Kings’ Wayne Gretzky or the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Mario Lemieux?

Hall of Fame defenseman Bobby Orr says:

“Mario Lemieux disappoints me because the league needs a Mario playing the way he can, and a lot of nights he doesn’t give you that.

“People ask me who’s better, Lemieux or Gretzky. Listen, on sheer ability, Mario is good enough to win scoring titles with a broken stick. On pure talent, he’s the best there is.

“But Wayne almost never disappoints you. He comes to work every night. There are nights when Mario doesn’t.”

Trivia time: Before Lemieux did it in 1987-88, who was the last NHL player to lead the league in scoring for a team that missed the playoffs?

Losing proposition: Raider Coach Art Shell was among six NFL coaches who got together Monday to help raise money for the Miami Project, which attempts to find a cure for spinal-cord injuries. The program is sponsored by a diet plan that will contribute $500 for every pound lost by the coaches. Buddy Ryan, coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, said of the 338-pound Shell: “Art Shell can afford to lose about three people.”

Friend in need: Hall of Famer Joe Morgan on the fall of former Cincinnati Red teammate Pete Rose: “It’s tough to see anyone you care about have problems. It always bothers me because I end up having to defend him--not about what he did, but the type of person he is. Pete’s a good person. I can’t defend what he did. I don’t even try. But I can defend (against) the fact that a lot of people think Pete was a bad guy all the time. And he wasn’t.”

Add baseball: If pitcher Jerry Reuss and first baseman Bill Buckner are able to make major league rosters this season, they will have a chance to play in their fourth decades.

It would be fitting if they barely made it into their fourth decades, because they barely made it into their first. Reuss, who will turn 41 on June 19, made one start for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1969. Buckner, 40, had one at-bat for the Dodgers in 1969.

Over a barrel: Temple Coach John Chaney said: “I don’t care how well you shoot. If you have 20 or 25 turnovers a game, you can’t overcome it against a team that has only five turnovers. If I’ve got a six-shooter, and you’ve got a machine gun, well, it’s over for me in six shots.”

Passive resistance: Before he was fired as coach of the Charlotte Hornets, Dick Harter said of Armon Gilliam, acquired from the Phoenix Suns for former Laker Kurt Rambis: “He’s one of the most selfish players I’ve ever seen. Power forwards penetrate our defense, and they can do whatever they want. Armon hasn’t bumped one yet.”

Add NBA: Chuck Daly, coach of the Detroit Pistons, on being defending NBA champion: “I used to like it when we could slip in and out of town and no one would notice. Then again, we didn’t win much back then, so it wasn’t so great. I guess you can’t win either way.”

The Koncak watch: Jon Koncak, a reserve for the Atlanta Hawks who signed a six-year, $13.2-million contract during the off-season, was averaging 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 points before suffering torn cartilage in his left knee last week.

Trivia answer: Roy Conacher, who scored 68 points for the fifth-place Chicago Blackhawks in 1948-49.

Quotebook: Purdue Coach Gene Keady on the quality of basketball in the Big Ten this season: “Last year, there were five teams that could have won the national championship. This year, there are seven teams that could win the Big Ten.”