Maybe Heat Already Got to Miner

Perhaps disoriented by his fall to the 12th spot in the NBA draft, where he was taken by the Miami Heat, Harold Miner picked a strange way to open his first conversation with the team’s managing partner, Lew Schaffel. The former USC star asked about alligators.

“I had heard about them,” Miner said at his introductory news conference in Miami. “I heard they popped out of the sewers.”

Assured by Schaffel and others that the alligators in Florida pretty much stick to the swamps, Miner found a lot to like about his new home.

“If you’re going to slip (in the draft), this is the place to slip to,” he said. “They say this town is so much like L.A. You can’t get any better than that.”

Trivia time: The Philadelphia 76ers’ trade of Charles Barkley to the Phoenix Suns for three players--Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang and Tim Perry--was similar to another blockbuster deal made by Philadelphia 24 years ago. What was that trade?

Hot time in the city: The decimal points should be flying this weekend in St. Louis, where the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) will hold its annual convention. According to a convention handout, presentations planned for members of the society, known as sabrematricians, include:

--A look at an “artificial intelligence” system that supposedly was used to predict successfully the Atlanta Braves’ playoff and World Series games last season.

--A study of the only professional baseball team ever to play in Wyoming--the 1941 Cheyenne Indians, who lasted only one year.

--A poetry reading by Chicago Sun-Times sportswriter Eddie Gold, who has penned a work entitled “Stinker to Nevers to Not-a-Chance.”

Cooling it: Wondering how athletes at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials in New Orleans were spending their day off Thursday, Gil LeBreton of the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram called a hotel favored by the athletes and spoke to one of the bellmen. Yes, the bellman said, the athletes were seeing the sites, but not those that traditionally attract tourists, such as French Quarter streets and restaurants. The athletes were going to the movies, New Orleans’ new aquarium and even the Louisiana Superdome--in other words, the bellman said, “anyplace that’s air-conditioned.”

There’s the beef: Little wonder John Kruk of the Philadelphia Phillies looks so lumpy. According to Jennifer Frey of the Philadelphia Daily News, Kruk’s favorite off-season hangout is a place called Hamburger Haven Restaurant and Lounge in McCoole, Md. His usual order: something called a Sonnyburger (a half-pound hamburger), a side of fries (with both ketchup and gravy), an order of cheese sticks and a beer.

And the damage to Kruk’s waistline could get worse. Rick Rotruck, Hamburger Haven co-owner, told Frey that Kruk’s Sonnyburgers will be free this winter if the National League batting leader can hit .400 for the season.

Textbook swing: While attending Cal State Fullerton in the 1970s, actor Kevin Costner took a baseball activity class taught by Titan Coach Augie Garrido. According to Rick Lawes of USA Today’s Baseball Weekly, Garrido doesn’t remember having Costner in class, but he has been impressed by what he has seen of Costner’s baseball skills on the big screen.

“If he learned that swing he used in ‘Bull Durham,’ he deserves to be the No. 1 actor in the world, because he’s the fastest learner in the world,” Garrido said. “I’ve got guys on this team I’m trying to teach that swing to every day who don’t get it.”

Don’t listen to us: Golf magazine asked 20 of the top professional golfers, “If you could give (three-time NCAA champion) Phil Mickelson one piece of advice as he joins the (PGA) Tour, what would it be?” Some of the responses:

Gary McCord: “Don’t listen to anybody and don’t change your putting stroke.”

Ben Crenshaw: “Spend the rest of your life learning Phil Mickelson’s game and no one else’s.”

Ken Venturi: “Don’t take free advice. You get exactly what you pay for it.”

Tom Kite: “Don’t listen to any advice.”

Scary thought: Of the 13 pitchers who combined to lose 120 games for the 1962 New York Mets, five became pitching coaches.

Trivia answer: In 1968, Philadelphia traded Wilt Chamberlain to the Lakers for Jerry Chambers, Archie Clark and Darrall Imhoff.

Quotebook: Seattle Manager Bill Plummer on what Ken Griffey Jr. is worth to the Mariners: “What does jelly do on peanut butter? That’s what Junior means to us.”