Maybe They Can Hold Thoughts Until Game 5

The Chicago Bulls and NBC took the Seattle SuperSonics too lightly Wednesday night. . . .

Those halftime interviews with Magic Johnson and Larry Bird about the all-time greatness of the Bulls weren’t particularly timely, considering they were trailing by 21 points. . . .

Best sign at Game 4: “The Fat Lady Has Laryngitis.”. . .

Good for baseball, good riddance Marge Schott. . . .

On the New York Mets’ pregame show the other night, catcher Todd Hundley said he was trying to emulate Mike Piazza’s hitting style. . . .

“As far as I’m concerned, Piazza is the best hitter in baseball,” Hundley said. “He does everything right. He never moves his head when he swings the bat.” . . .

It was during spring training before Piazza’s rookie year in 1993 that Tom Lasorda said Piazza had the best hitting mechanics of anyone in the Dodger organization. . . .

“People laughed at me and said I was prejudiced because I’d known Mike and his family for a long time,” Lasorda said. “Well, they’re not laughing anymore.” . . .

In 13 promotional dates at Dodger Stadium, the average attendance is 43,911. For the other 20 dates, it’s 33,228. . . .

It was no coincidence that six of the eight players taken by Los Angeles in the baseball draft last week are position players, not pitchers. . . .

“Our philosophy has always been to take the best players, regardless of position,” Fred Claire said. “But we have a number of good young pitchers. This time, I told our scouts to concentrate on other positions.” . . .

The Dodgers’ first choice, third baseman Damian Rolls from Kansas City, Kan., is 6 feet 3 and 205 pounds, was also an outstanding high school quarterback and has leadership traits. . . .

The news that Cigar won’t defend his title in the $1-million Gold Cup on June 30 is devastating to Hollywood Park, where business is down again this year. . . .

Cigar’s picture had been featured on the track calendar and other promotional materials and a crowd approaching 50,000 had been anticipated. . . .

Trainer Bill Mott said the horse’s bruised foot would prevent him from running in the race, but there had been indications that he wouldn’t have competed even if able. . . .

Owner Allen Paulson has been very tempted by other offers, including that for a $1-million, weight-for-age race designed especially for Cigar at Arlington Park in Chicago. . . .

That, of course, would be the easy way to stretch his win streak to 16. . . .

Soul Of The Matter, who lost a tight finish to Cigar in the Dubai World Cup, is among the probable starters in the Hollywood Gold Cup. . . .

The day after Wayne Lukas won the 1995 Belmont Stakes with Thunder Gulch, the trainer unveiled Grindstone, this year’s Kentucky Derby winner. . . .

The day after Lukas won Saturday’s Belmont Stakes with Editor’s Note, he unveiled a 2-year-colt named Wrightwood at Hollywood Park. . . .

The irony about Wrightwood’s impressive two-length victory was that he survived a claim of foul by jockey Rene Douglas, who had ridden Editor’s Note in the Belmont. . . .

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Look-alikes: women’s U.S. Open golf champion Annika Sorenstam and actress Theresa Russell. . . .

The Ed O’Bannon Three-on-Three Celebrity Basketball Tournament, a benefit for the Southern California Special Olympics, will be June 22 at Pauley Pavilion. . . .

The L.A. Galaxy of Major League Soccer isn’t the only unbeaten Southland team. Anaheim of Arena Football has won its first seven games. Both will play opponents from Tampa Bay this weekend. . . .

Neither Patrick Roy nor John Vanbiesbrouck had the lowest goals-against average during the NHL playoffs. Chicago’s Ed Belfour did. . . .

Attention L.A. Kings: After missing the NHL playoffs, the Dallas Stars are giving 1996-97 season-ticket holders free plane tickets to Montreal, Toronto or any U.S. city where American Airlines flies. . . .

Unbeaten super-middleweight champion Roy Jones Jr. probably has more chance to be injured while playing point guard for the Jacksonville Barracudas in a U.S. Basketball League game Saturday afternoon than he does fighting little-known Eric Lucas that night. . . .

During their first two seasons as Laker coach, Del Harris and Mike Dunleavy each had 101-63 records. . . .

I don’t think Greg Norman will play well enough to earn the opportunity to blow the U.S. Open championship.