Pain in the Back? Take Two, Cancel the Subscription

Many athletes consider the media a pain, but the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Mario Lemieux means it.

Dr. Charles Burke, the orthopedic surgeon who is overseeing treatment of Lemieux’s back problems, said the hockey star’s pain increased sharply after it was reported that he probably will undergo postseason surgery for a herniated disk.

Burke told Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Press: “I have seen his condition remarkably deteriorate . . . since the time all this was released. It definitely has an effect, all this appearing in the paper.”

Burke said the change in Lemieux’s condition is not psychosomatic, “but there is a definite relationship with how each individual person deals with his problem and his pain.

“If I had no back pain and I saw my name appear in the paper every day and on the news and every person who asked me a question asked me about my back, I would not be surprised if I developed back pain in a short period of time.”

Add NHL: Jean Perron, who resigned as coach of the Quebec Nordiques last season, on the club’s inept performance: “They don’t have enough muckers, guys who bleed their noses in the corners. For half a season, (injured) Guy Lafleur was their best player.”

Trivia time: Who was the first NHL player to win consecutive Hart trophies?

Popped him up: Carlos Martinez, third baseman of the Chicago White Sox, spent eight days in a Caracas, Venezuela, jail after he was accused of hitting a baseball security guard with a bat on Jan. 20.

Martinez admits hitting the guard when he refused to let Martinez and his friends enter a stadium but said he only used his hand. A judge has confined Martinez to the town of La Guaria while a decision is made on a trial.

“The U.S. government has approved a visa for him, and the only question is whether Venezuela will let him out,” said Chuck Bizzell, minor league administrator for the White Sox. “Certainly, Carlos has no history of these incidents. We support him all the way.”

Civil disservice: Doug DuBose, former San Francisco 49er running back, obviously not a political science major, quoted by the Hartford Courant on the feeling of invincibility that drugs gave him during his collegiate career at Nebraska: “I felt like I could shoot the mayor of Nebraska and all I’d get was community work.”

It’s all geek to me: Hall of Famer Bob St. Clair was nicknamed Geek when he played for the 49ers. He earned the moniker after performing antics such as eating raw beef liver to terrify rookies. Has he eaten any raw liver lately? “I do eat quite a bit of rare chicken,” St. Clair said, “but try getting them to serve you that at a restaurant.”

Trivia answer: Howie Morenz of the Montreal Canadiens, who was judged to be the player most valuable to his team, in 1931-32.

Quotebook: David Axelson, Miami Arena public-address announcer, during the NBA All-Star game: “Magic Johnson for three, from Dick Stockton.”