East Is East and West Is West, so . . .

Ron Borges of the Boston Globe writes that South Carolina State running back Kenny Bynum was elated when he was selected in the fifth round by the San Diego Chargers in the recent NFL draft:

“ ‘I know the West Coast offense really well,’ Bynum said. Asked if the Chargers had told him they were switching to the West Coast offense, a confused Bynum said no, but San Diego is on the West Coast, so he figured that’s what all the teams out there played.”

Right, and the Chicago Bears play the Midwest offense, the New York Giants the East Coast offense . . .

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Trivia time: What is the NBA single-game playoff record for the lowest field goal percentage by a team?

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Fluff’s free ride: Tiger Woods’ celebrity is rubbing off on his caddie, Mike (Fluff) Cowan.

A sporting goods store in Fairfield, Maine, where Cowan went to high school, is selling golf balls named for the caddie with the big white mustache who toted Woods’ bag during his record-breaking victory in the Masters.

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Nome or Fairbanks? St. Louis Cardinal Manager Tony La Russa believes the San Diego Padres are too ambitious, or greedy, in extending their domain. They played a series in Mexico last year and one in Hawaii this year, prompting La Russa to remark:

“The next thing they’ll want is to play in Alaska.”

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Parting shot: Peter Vecsey in the New York Post: “[Larry] Brown left no doubt about his intentions to bolt (with management’s blessing) when he recently criticized Reggie Miller’s offensive skills:

“ ‘Reggie just can’t dribble the ball. People get upon him, but because we’ve got only one other scorer, that puts so much pressure on him. He’s a great shooter, but he isn’t a great player.’ ”

Larry will be hearing from Cheryl.

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Ancient history: Jay Leno noted that America’s longest-married couple just celebrated their 81st wedding anniversary. He’s 100. She’s 97.

You know where they met? At a Cubs’ World Series game.

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Ambifootstrous: Track & Field News reports that Oregon senior Chris Nelson high jumped 7-feet-1 off his left leg in one meet this winter, then did 7-0 the next week off the right.

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FYI: According to Forbes magazine’s annual Super 40, the survey listing the world’s highest paid athletes, Cal Ripken Jr. was the only baseball player among the top 20 in endorsement earnings in 1996. His $6 million was 12th.

Michael Jordan led the list with $40 million followed by Shaquille O’Neal with $17 million. Tiger Woods was sixth at $8 million, ahead of Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman.

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Trivia answer: Golden State shot 23.3%, 27 of 116, in losing to the Lakers, 126-70, on April 21, 1973.

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And finally: Colleen Barnes, mother of California quarterback Pat Barnes and former UCLA quarterback John Barnes, has a frame on her license plate that reads: “I produce quarterbacks.”