Free Agent Brian Williams Could Wind Up as a Laker

There are a couple of chances that free agent center Brian Williams will stay in Los Angeles--with the Clippers, his team last year, or Lakers. . . .

If the Lakers don’t sign Shaquille O’Neal, they will need a center to replace Vlade Divac. . . .

“There are a lot of free agents out there,” said Jerry West, who conceivably could sign high-priced Alonzo Mourning or Dikembe Mutombo or lower-priced Jim McIlvane. . . .

Ed Olczyk was a solid free-agent signing by the Kings. He’s a veteran goal scorer with leadership qualities, but not too old at 29. . . .

Cuban-born Luis Rodriguez, who died at 59 on Tuesday, was 6-0 in Los Angeles and won a 15-round decision over welterweight champion Emile Griffith on March 21, 1963. Davey Moore died from injuries suffered the same night in a featherweight title bout against Sugar Ramos on the first and only boxing card at Dodger Stadium. . . .

Like a hot dog when you go to the fights? . . .

Well, here is the menu for tonight’s boxing show at the Beverly Hilton: Limestone lettuce, vine-ripened tomatoes, Sonoma goat cheese, balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Choice of broiled petite filet mignon, grilled split breast of chicken or grilled filet of salmon. Mustard seed sauce. Chef’s selection of fresh seasonal vegetables and starch. Choice of the Beverly starbust, mini cappuccino cake, New York cheese cake, apple spanikopita or truffle cake spectrum of berries and sauces. . . .

Butterbean approves and just might indulge after his bout. . . .

Upset at the way Riddick Bowe was preparing for his fight against Andrew Golota that will be televised by HBO from Madison Square Garden on Thursday, trainer Eddie Futch got into the ring and showed Bowe the right way. Futch will turn 85 next month. . . .

The connections of Kentucky Derby favorite Unbridled’s Song are thinking about running him in the $500,000 Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park on July 21. . . .

How tough is it to make a living training horses? Ross Fenstermaker, who trained Eclipse Award winners Precisionist and Susan’s Girl, is booking mounts for journeyman jockey Victor Navarro on the California fair circuit. . . .

No surprise here: According to a Houston Oiler press release, good season tickets are still available. . . .

UCLA water polo player Tom Wong has been awarded an NCAA postgraduate scholarship. He will study Chinese cinema for a year in Beijing and then attend New York University. . . .

Except for injuries, Monica Seles vs. Steffi Graf would be among the hottest rivalries in sports. . . .

At their best, I like Seles, whose shot selection and strategy are less predictable than Graf’s. . . .

The Infiniti Open dinner and silent auction will be held Aug. 1 at the James West Alumni Center at UCLA. Tickets include reserved seats at the tennis tournament that night and proceeds go to the Safe Passage Foundation, the inner-city youth tennis program founded by the late Arthur Ashe. Details: (310) 771-3200. . . .

Seven of the 12 players on the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team are 6 feet or taller. . . .

Runners from Kenya finished first through seventh in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Galan Grand Prix in Stockholm on Monday and Africans will be favored in all the men’s distance events at the Olympic Games. . . .

Martin Keino recently ran the mile in 3:52.33, which is faster than his father Kip, the 1,500-meter champion at Mexico City in 1968, ever ran four laps. . . .

Isn’t it about time that the U.S. Olympic Committee buried the hatchet and honored the achievements of Tommie Smith? . . .

The state of Texas might be represented in the next World Series, but not in the next Super Bowl. . . .

Official scoring rules-change suggestion: Give a run batted in to a batter who hits into a run-scoring double play. . . .

The Detroit Tigers will have to lose 59 of their last 72 games to catch the 1962 New York Mets. . . .

Colorado Rocky hitters aren’t the only ones who benefit from high altitude and thin air. Brigham Young led the NCAA in home runs per game and Wyoming in batting average. . . .

The Baltimore Orioles have six players on pace to hit at least 20 home runs this season. . . .

The All-Star break would have been the perfect time for baseball to announce a labor agreement and the hiring of a commissioner. . . .

The home run derby at Veterans Stadium on Monday reminded me of a game at Coors Field.