The Way Finals Are Going, He May Tee Up Very Soon

There seems to be no end to the ripple effect on golf created by Tiger Woods’ splash.

People who never thought of taking up the game are now doing so.

Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone told ESPN’s “Outside the Lines,” “I always said I would never play golf. But just [because of] the inspiration of watching Tiger play, I may give it a shot.”

Trivia time: Michael Jordan scored 55 points against the Phoenix Suns in the 1993 NBA finals, tying Rick Barry for the second-highest single-game total. Who holds the record?

Can he do commercials? Trainer Bob Baffert on his horse, Silver Charm, who will try to win racing’s Triple Crown in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes: “He’s so confident. He’s got that Michael Jordan look, the look when he won the game the other night.”

Practical or paranoid? Former Phoenix Sun coach Paul Westphal told Alan Greenberg of the Hartford Courant that he wants to take another stab at coaching.

But Westphal is not about to just grab the first offer he gets.

“I’m going to try to land in a situation where everybody in the boat is rowing the same way and you don’t have to worry about a knife in your back,” Westphal said.

Losing her shirt: Some days, there really is nothing to wear. Even in the French Open.

Elena Dementieva, a junior player from Russia, was already into her match against Katalin Morosi of Hungary when tournament officials told her that her tennis shirt violated the rules. It mentioned her sponsor six times instead of the allowable single mention.

With no acceptable substitute, Dementieva ran to a nearby stall and bought an official Roland Garros T-shirt, which sells for $29.

After a 15-minute delay, the match went on. Morosi won, 6-0, 6-2.

No tee times available: The Kemper Open in Maryland this weekend is being threatened by bad weather.

“I don’t think it’ll be depressing, just wet,” said Pete Cleaves, the tournament’s operations director. “This is a major event. There may be small obstructions like cyclones, hurricanes or tornadoes, but you work through it.”

Trivia answer: Elgin Baylor, who scored 61 for the Lakers against the Boston Celtics in the fifth game of the 1962 finals, which the Lakers won, 126-121.

And finally: The Kings have hired Kurt Schwartzkopf as director of marketing and promotions. Among his previous jobs was a position with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey.

That experience should serve him well in his new job. Considering what the Kings have been like until their operation recently began to stabilize, what could be better training than a job with the circus?