Grant Hill Wants Badly to Be in ‘Bad’ Company

Grant Hill of the Pistons is constantly reminded by fans that the Detroit “Bad Boys” of 1989 and 1990 won NBA championships and his team hasn’t.

“I want a ring and I want it bad,” he says. “Everybody tells me to be patient. They tell me it took Isiah [Thomas] a long time before he won one [in his eighth season]. It took Michael [Jordan] a long time before he won one [in his seventh season].

“And I know Patrick [Ewing] and Charles [Barkley] are still trying to get one. But it’s hard to be patient.”

Hill won’t get any sympathy from Jerry West. The Lakers didn’t win an NBA championship until 1972, his 12th season.

*

Trivia time: Who holds the NHL record for penalties in a game?

*

No suds, no support: Colorado’s football team is struggling with a 5-4 record, and junior receiver Darrin Chiaverini says the players have come to accept criticism.

“Our fans are our fans. They’re mad that the stadium isn’t selling beer, and they’re taking it out on us.”

*

Join the club: Tom Kite, captain of the losing U.S Ryder Cup team, said, “I know now what [losing football] coaches go through on Monday morning. They have to hear it every week. I just had it after one bad weekend.”

Kite and Jay Haas are the defending champions of the Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout that begins today at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks.

*

Is this a good deal? Season-ticket holders who buy $1,500 worth of Oakland Athletic tickets for next season will get a free trip to spring training in Phoenix.

Fans, though, will have to find their own accommodations in Phoenix to watch a team that finished 25 games out of first place in the American League West last season.

*

Bugel call: Oakland Raider Coach Joe Bugel, answering critics in the San Francisco Chronicle on the predictability of the Raider offense:

“If you believe in certain plays, you run them over and over. Otherwise, you become a buffet--and we don’t want to do that.”

Ever try a buffet, Joe? You might like it.

*

Looking back: On this day in 1943, Sid Luckman of the Chicago Bears became the first pro player to pass for more than 400 yards when he threw for 433 yards and seven touchdowns in a 56-7 victory over the New York Giants.

*

Looking back again: On this day in 1987, UCLA routed Washington at the Rose Bowl, 47-14.

Trivia answer: Chris Nilan of the Boston Bruins, 10, against Hartford on May 31, 1991.

*

And finally: Geoff Petrie, the Sacramento Kings’ vice president of basketball operations, is trying to stay loose on the Mitch Richmond trade watch.

He has posted a reversible sign in his office. One side reads, “Mitch not traded today.” The other side reads, “Mitch traded today.”