Mavericks’ Nelson Spots Up, Takes the Open Shot

When Dallas Maverick Coach Don Nelson heard of Washington Wizard forward Chris Webber’s recent arrest, he got in a few digs at the player with whom he clashed at Golden State.

“From Day 1, Chris didn’t respect authority,” Nelson said. “He was the No. 1 pick, and he felt everyone should treat him like it, regardless. You don’t have to like the coach, but you have to respect the uniform.

“You don’t have to like the cop, but you’ve got to respect the uniform. Chris just doesn’t. He measures people’s success by their checkbooks. It’s sad.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the Pacific 10 Conference basketball record for steals in a game?

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Fat chance: Ladbrokes, the British bookmaker, was involved in Super Bowl betting. The wildest bet? How about 150-1 on (estimated) 375-pound Packer defensive lineman Gilbert Brown scoring the first touchdown?

“It could happen, you know, his stomach would precede the rest of him over the goal line,” a spokesman said.

As you know, it didn’t happen.

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Superkid: Nick Van Exel commenting to Glenn Nelson of the Seattle Times on Kobe Bryant, his 19-year-old Laker teammate:

“He’s already got his own shoe. Maybe one day he’ll fly by himself to games in his own jet. He’ll have his own locker room. He’ll have his own bodyguards with him all the time. He’s going to be that big.”

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Betting background: Denver Bronco center Tom Nalen wasn’t offended by the 11 1/2-point spread in the Super Bowl:

“I don’t really care. It’s not like I’m putting money on it--although I am from Boston College.”

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Needs an agent: Lou Henson is often called the $1-a-month interim basketball coach at New Mexico State, but that’s accounting. He’s actually paid $57 a month, but $56 a month is deducted to pay for his insurance.

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FYI: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played in a record 18 NBA All-Star games.

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Looking back: On this day in 1990, the San Francisco 49ers routed the Denver Broncos, 55-10, in the most lopsided Super Bowl ever.

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Me first: Calgary Flame Coach Brian Sutter asked if the Sutter sons had always been competitive: “From the time the sun rose every morning. We had seven kids and one bathroom. Now that’s competition.”

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Trivia answer: Tyus Edney of UCLA, with 11 against George Mason on Dec. 22, 1994.

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And finally: Blackie Sherrod in the Dallas Morning News: “Sudden Thought: Why not hire Oprah Winfrey as next Cowboy coach and solve all the problems?

“You would set historical precedent in headlines, popularity, race, gender and even surpass the last coaching hire for inaneness.”