Miller Knows There Are Times When He Must Dump the Trash

Reggie Miller of the Indiana Pacers is one of the NBA’s top trash talkers. However, the former UCLA standout says he does it only in retaliation.

“There are guys you can trash talk and guys you can’t,” Miller told Hal Bock of the Associated Press. “You can trash talk John Starks. You can’t trash talk Michael Jordan.

“Jordan is the master of intimidation and manipulation with the looks and stares he gives. You let him alone. With Michael, the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign is out there and the maid better not come in.”

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Add trash talk: The roots of trash talk can be found in baseball’s bench jockeying, an art form, according to former catcher Joe Garagiola.

“There was no limit to what they’d say,” Garagiola said. “They’d learn things about you. They would research you. If these guys did research in school the way they did research for jockeying, they’d all be college professors.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the record for most consecutive appearances in baseball’s All-Star game?

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Soft target: In the opening round of the U.S. Senior Open, Lee Trevino’s approach shot to the 435-yard, par-four ninth hole struck a marshal in the chest.

“He must have weighed about 320,” Trevino said. “I hit him perfect. It was like hitting a mattress. The ball fell straight down. I could have hit him a dozen times and wouldn’t have moved him.”

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Mellowing: Larry Bird, the retired superstar Boston Celtic forward, is now teaching Celtic forwards at his camp for big men.

Ed Pinckney was asked if Bird was helpful in practice when he was an active player. “No, no,” Pinckney said. “He was the exact opposite. He would kill you if he saw something wrong in your game. He took advantage of that. He really never gave any advice.”

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Don’t hold your breath: Comedian Jerry Seinfeld has been offered an opportunity to play right field for the Class-A Kingston (N.C.) Indians because he resembles the regular right fielder, Marc Marini.

A spokesman for Seinfeld said that his appearance is unlikely, but added that Seinfeld is a baseball fan.

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The money’s safe: From Phil Jackman of the Baltimore Sun: “It’s not an empty gesture the New York Marathon has made--offering a $100,000 bonus to an American winner, male or female--but it comes close.

“While it’s conceivable a U.S. woman might be able to pull it off, American men have all they can do to finish in the top 15.”

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Racket squad: From The Good Doctor in Inside Sports:

Question: Who made this year’s All-Audubon first team?

Answer: “Robin Yount, Larry Finch, Rory Sparrow, Jay Haas, Jose Cardenal, Alan Eagleson, John David Crow, Robert Wrenn, Kevin Duckworth, Otis Birdsong and Chick Hearn.”

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Trivia answer: Stan Musial and Willie Mays with 24.

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Quotebook: Yogi Berra on golfing: “Ninety percent of putts that are short don’t go in.”