It’s USC-UCLA, so They Still Get in Digs

Did somebody spike the water?

It was 15 years ago that USC upset UCLA for the men’s NCAA volleyball title and the only time as a Bruin that Karch Kiraly did not lead his team to the crown.

Many of the UCLA players still say it was a tainted victory because five of the six Bruin starters got sick after drinking the water in Muncie, Ind.

The argument continues, what with many of the players now starring on the beach tour.

Said Tim Hovland, who played for USC: “Of the 40 balls they spiked at the net, 31 were blocked, four were winners and five were out. They must have called a lawyer to find a better excuse.”

Trivia time: Who was the last wire-to-wire Preakness winner?

Looking back: On this day in 1910, Cy Young recorded his 500th victory as the Cleveland Indians defeated Washington, 5-4, in 11 innings.

Excuse me?Chet Forte on XTRA said Reggie Miller “might be the most clutch player in the game, ever.”

And maybe not. How about, oh, Jerry West, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, John Havlicek, Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who were clutch enough to play on NBA teams that lead Miller’s in NBA titles, 26-0.

The money isn’t gross: A Mike Tyson-George Foreman fight could gross $120 million in TV revenue, according to Paul Kagan Associates, a firm that charts pay-per-view TV.

The PPV leader is the 1991 Foreman-Evander Holyfield fight, which grossed $48 million.

Ah, fulfillment: Why did David Justice of the Atlanta Braves add a nipple ring to his array of body adornments?

Said Justice: “I had nothing else to do.”

Justice, who also has a double-pierced left ear, a black panther tattoo on his right ankle and a “Mother” tattoo on his left shoulder, is married to actress Halle Berry. Justice said she didn’t get her navel pierced because she was afraid it would hurt.

Up on the woof: From the canine department, that doggone dog was almost a gone dog. Chief, a 3-year-old German shepherd-husky mix owned by Christian Laettner of the Minnesota Timberwolves, nearly became part of a medical experiment at the University of Minnesota.

Chief was missing for several weeks and was saved at the last minute when a researcher recognized the runaway dog from a picture in a newspaper in Minneapolis.

“I’m obviously very happy and very lucky,” said Laettner.

So is Chief.

Trivia answer: Aloma’s Ruler in 1982.

Quotebook: Baltimore outfielder Andy Van Slyke after watching Mike Mussina pitch the first American League complete game of the season, a 6-1 victory over Cleveland: “You can just take the tape of that game, sell it for $19.95 and say, this is how you pitch.”