‘Chang Associates With . . . ‘ Better Yet, Let Him Write It

As part of a promotion by sponsoring Opel at the Grand Slam Cup tennis tournament in Munich, Germany, million-dollar finalist Michael Chang and other players were asked to sign the hood of a car brought into the locker room.

Said Chang, who plays French Open champion Jim Courier at the Forum Wednesday night: “I can see the headlines now, ‘Chang associates with hood in locker room.’ ”

Jose the Yankee? Get Madonna on the phone, fast. Actually, although no one is expecting him to be wearing a home uniform at Yankee Stadium, Jose Canseco’s name really did pop up last week in trade talks between the Oakland Athletics and the Yankees.

Jeff Borris, one of Canseco’s representatives, considered the possibilities: “The House that Ruth built, the House that Reggie remodeled and the House that Jose tore apart.”

Trivia time: Besides Roger Maris, who hit 61 home runs in 1961, who is the only player since 1912 to lead his league in home runs while matching the year with the number of homers he hit?

Injury of the week: Starting forward Harvey Grant of the Washington Bullets missed a game after pulling a muscle in his back while getting out of bed.

Oh, yes, Bono: Quarterback Steve Bono has developed into such a star with the San Francisco 49ers that some fans are demanding that Steve Young be traded. So how many games did Bono start in his four-year career at UCLA? Eleven, although he was sidelined by a shoulder injury after five starts his junior year.

Role model: Last week in Vancouver, Wash., a man was sentenced to a year in jail on a charge of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon for striking an umpire with an aluminum baseball bat while arguing over a suspended Little League game.

No kidding: Oregon State freshman guard Kareem Anderson, explaining his first name: “My dad likes basketball.”

Who’s counting? UCLA’s Richard Petruska was listed as having one assist in the box score from Saturday night’s Bruin-San Diego State game. The only problem is Petruska did not play. In fact, he is ineligible this season after transferring from Loyola Marymount.

So who got credit for Petruska’s phantom assist in the corrected box score? Tracy Murray, who needs as many as he can get.

Calling John Robinson: The entertainment at the NFL Alumni player-of-the-year awards dinner at the Super Bowl in Minneapolis will be provided by singer Dionne Warwick, of “I Say a Little Prayer For You” fame. Clearly, members of the Ram organization have been invited.

Nixon’s the one: Because he must sit out the first 18 days of the season to complete his suspension for drug use, outfielder Otis Nixon of the Atlanta Braves will lose $57,857 in salary.

Trivia answer: Chuck Klein of the Philadelphia Phillies, who hit 31 homers in 1931.

Quotebook: Guard Willie Anderson of the San Antonio Spurs after teammate David Robinson had scored 35 points, taken down 14 rebounds and blocked nine shots while playing against rookie Minnesota Timberwolves center Luc Longley: “We kind of welcomed Luc into the league.”