It’s Safe To Say He Won’t Be Called ‘The Big Tipper’

Now that Kevin Garnett has signed a six-year, $128.1-million contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves, perhaps he can shed his reputation as a cheapskate.

“Da Kid is also Da Tightwad,” wrote Bob Sansevere of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “Especially to the people who deliver his pizza. They say he never tips.

“ ‘We hate delivering to him,’ said Brandon Haapoja, who took pizza to Garnett’s home several times in the last year and always got stiffed on the tip.

“‘When he first came here, it was like, ‘Oh, Kevin Garnett, I’m out there.’ Now, no one wants to go. Most people at least give you a couple of bucks.’ ”

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Trivia time: Who were the pitchers in major league baseball’s only double nine-inning no-hitter?

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Would we pass? Some newspapers, such as the San Francisco Chronicle, publish a report card on an NFL team’s performance in a game.

After the Raiders lost to the Chargers last Sunday, 25-10, the Chronicle’s Ron Kroichick gave Oakland grades of D and F in 10 of 11 categories.

Thank goodness sportswriters aren’t being graded.

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Vicious! Bernie Lincicome in the Chicago Tribune on Sunday night’s Bear-New Orleans Saint game: “This is the kind of game that gives football a bad name--soccer.”

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FYI: With the announcement that North Carolina basketball Coach Dean Smith is retiring, it’s interesting to note that Smith and John Wooden, the former UCLA coach, opposed each other only once in their careers.

Wooden’s Bruins beat Smith’s Tar Heels in the 1968 NCAA championship game at the Sports Arena, 78-55. Wooden won 10 NCAA titles in his 27 seasons at UCLA. Smith won two.

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Noisy trio: The Calgary Flames have a unit of rookie Steven Begin at center, flanked by enforcers Mike Peluso and Sandy McCarthy.

“One thing is for sure,” McCarthy said. “Nobody will be safe out there with us. This ain’t just a crash line. There’s a bang, there’s a boom, too. Yeah, I like that, that’s a good name: ‘Crash, bang, boom.’ ”

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Looking back: On this day in 1957, Lew Burdette’s third victory of the World Series, a 5-0 decision over the New York Yankees, gave the Milwaukee Braves the championship.

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Looking back again: On this day in 1981, Marcus Allen gained 211 yards, his fifth consecutive 200-plus rushing game, in USC’s 13-10 loss to Arizona.

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Trivia answer: Cincinnati’s Fred Toney and Chicago’s Hippo Vaughn on May 2, 1917 at Wrigley Field. Vaughn gave up two 10th-inning hits and the Reds won, 1-0, as only Toney finished with a no-hitter.

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And finally: Nelson Tennis writing in Student Sports magazine: “At the 1919 Southern California High School Track & Field Meet, an unusual exhibition event was the hand grenade throw for accuracy.

“I assume they weren’t live hand grenades. Tyson of Los Angeles Franklin won with 11 ‘puts.’ ”