Finally! Being a Loyal Fan Can Pay Off

Did you think Michael Jordan could get any more popular in Chicago?

Friday night, the winning numbers in the Illinois state lottery’s Pick Four game were 2345, a combination of the two numbers Jordan has worn on his Bulls’ jersey--23 and 45.

“A lot of people were playing M.J.’s numbers, and we paid out the third-highest amount ever for the Pick Four game,” a lottery spokesman said.

A total of $1.82 million was paid out in prizes, nearly six times the amount the lottery took in on wagers.

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Trivia time: Who holds the NBA record for most free throws in a game without a miss?

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Epic dress code: Indiana basketball Coach Bob Knight sarcastically commenting on the NCAA rule that prohibits hanging shirttails:

“This new rule may be second only to the development of the jump shot when the total history of basketball is written.”

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Dream on: D’Marco Farr, St. Louis defensive tackle, on the slumping Rams before they lost to New Orleans on Sunday, 19-10:

“This could determine your postseason play right now. We need to get back to the glory days of the weeks past, when we were 4-0 and dominant.”

Dominant?

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No Quitter: Marri Hollen, the 5-foot-9, 135-pound woman inside the Benny Beaver mascot costume at Oregon State, has been roughed up in recent weeks by players from California and Arizona.

She’s not ready to quit, though.

“I love doing it, but I’m fed up with being hit,” Hollen said.

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Give it a try: Ray Knight, the new manager of the Cincinnati Reds, said he doesn’t believe he will have any trouble with owner Marge Schott.

“I don’t believe in the dog hair stuff, that it does any good,” Knight said. “But as my wife [golfer Nancy Lopez] says, ‘It can’t hurt.’ ”

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Easy, Greg, easy: Greg Cote of the Miami Herald couldn’t restrain his glee in the trade that brought Alonzo Mourning to the Miami Heat:

“You talk about your new day dawning, and here it is, folks. Bright sun, whistling birds, gentle waves, fresh breeze. Ah yes . . . Mourning in Miami! Nothing could be finer than this trade with Carolina.”

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Turn-off: Bud Geracie in the San Jose Mercury News: “The Phillies’ farm team in the Carolina League has changed its nickname to the Boll Weevils. That ought to bring out the fans.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1946, Notre Dame and Army played to a scoreless tie, the deadlock ending the Cadets’ 26-game winning streak.

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Trivia answer: Dominique Wilkins of Atlanta, with 23 against Chicago on Dec. 8, 1992.

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Quotebook: Scott Ostler in the San Francisco Chronicle on the 49ers losing to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday: “Now we know what happens when an expansion team meets a contraction team.”