What’s Next? Who Had the Most Dribbles?

The Philadelphia 76ers’ media guide and statistical yearbook is also a source of information for trivia buffs. A sampling:

--NBA players’ records in overtime jump balls in 1991-1992, led by Larry Nance at 5-0.

--Players who had shots blocked last season. Kendall Gill led the list with 123.

--Players with the most games without a technical foul in their NBA careers, led by Craig Hodges with 695 games.

Trivia time: Who holds the Raider record for most receptions?

Quick charge: Greg Cote, of the Miami Herald, on San Francisco 49er running back Amp Lee replacing injured Ricky Watters: “It all makes perfect sense to me. You lose a Watt, you add an Amp.”

Winning losers: How important is it to win the coin toss in NFL overtime games? Will McDonough of the Boston Globe reports that it’s insignificant.

“Since 1974, 192 overtime games have been played to a decision,” McDonough writes. “The team that lost the toss has won the game 100 times.”

Brrr!Tampa Bay Lightning General Manager Phil Esposito on rumors that the NHL club will be relocated in Milwaukee:

“We aren’t going anywhere,” Esposito said. “Do you think I’ll go from 80-degree weather to minus 3? I don’t think so.”

Ode to Shaq: Jackie MacMullan of the Boston Globe, describing Shaquille O’Neal, the rookie center of the Orlando Magic:

“Shaq is David Robinson without the shyness, Bill Russell without the anger, Wilt Chamberlain without the arrogance, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar without the awkwardness. He has Magic’s smile and Michael’s athleticism.”

Is that all?

Add Shaq: Seattle’s Michael Cage, who is four inches shorter and 40 pounds lighter than the 7-foot-1, 300-pound O’Neal, restricted Shaq to nine points and 11 rebounds in a recent game.

“I saw all the films and he averages three or four dunks on tips over people,” Cage said. “If you let him dunk like that, you’re going to see yourself later on ESPN. Your family is going to ask what happened.”

Comebacks continued: In 1948, Bob Waterfield and Jim Hardy split time as starting quarterbacks for the Rams. In the third quarter of an Oct. 24 game in Detroit, the Rams trailed, 21-0. Hardy replaced Waterfield to lead the Rams to a 34-27 victory.

Raving mad: The Yellowknife Golf Club in the Northwest Territories of Canada is the northernmost course in the world, located 250 miles south of the Arctic Circle, according to The Golf Hall of Shame book.

There are a lot of birdies on the course, mostly ravens, who glide down from trees and pick up balls in their beaks.

The thefts had led to an adoption of a local rule. On every Yellowknife scorecard, Rule No. 6 states: “No penalty assessed when ball carried off by raven.”

Trivia answer: Fred Biletnikoff, with 589 (1965-78).

Quotebook: Houston defensive end Sean Jones, concerned about his team’s record (7-5) before the Oilers beat the Chicago Bears on Monday night: “We’re praying to the Loss Fairy that other teams lose.”