He’s a Few Clubs Shy of Full Bag, if You Get Our Drift

Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Sun-Times, on Miami Heat guard Dan Majerle’s obsession with golf:

“ ‘My wife thinks I’m sick, I play so much,’ said Majerle, who recently posed with Tina Majerle in Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue.

“ ‘It’s an obsession. I have a set of clubs right by the bed. I practice my swing as soon as I get home. I chip shots against the wall. I putt. I do all that stuff. She thinks I’m nuts.’ ”

Rosenthal: “We’ve seen that picture of Majerle’s wife in SI. He is nuts.”

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Trivia time: When did USC make its first appearance in the men’s NCAA basketball tournament and what was the result?

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Hold on! In the last minute of Arizona’s narrow victory over UCLA on March 7, television analyst George Raveling was so excited he said: “Oh, my God, I have to go to the bathroom.”

Observed Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News: “That is more information than we needed.”

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Some legacy: Bob Kravitz of the Rocky Mountain News writes that Bill Hanzlik, the coach of the woeful Denver Nuggets, has committed career suicide.

“He should have listened to his old friend, Doug Moe, who told him to say no. But he couldn’t resist, and so his NBA head-coaching career will end April 19, his enduring legacy being one of having coached the worst non-expansion major professional team of the 20th century.”

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He asked for it: Portland’s Isaiah Rider, who thought he was fouled on a fadeaway jump shot in the second quarter of Wednesday night’s game against the Lakers, looked referee Bernie Fryer right in the eyes on the way upcourt and yelled, “Call something!”

Fryer obliged, calling a technical foul on Rider.

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Easy, Art, easy: The NFL’s Baltimore Ravens had a 6-9-1 record in 1997, but owner Art Modell is enthusiastic about the 1998 season.

“This is going to be an outstanding football team,” he said. “You are going to sit here a year from now and say, ‘Art, you were right. Everything you said, you were right.’ ”

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Stepping on the Worm: New York Knick Coach Jeff Van Gundy, when asked if Dennis Rodman should be considered one of the 50 greatest NBA players of all time:

“He played with a lot of the top 50 players of all time, and he’s great at what he does. You play with Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, David Robinson, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, you can have a hell of a career if you can do one thing--whatever that one thing is.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1981, the Golden State Warriors set an NBA record by losing their 10th consecutive overtime game, dating to the 1979-80 season.

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Trivia answer: 1940. USC defeated Colorado, 38-32, before losing to Kansas, 43-42, in the national semifinals. The Trojans had a 20-3 record that season.

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And finally: Pitcher Rod Beck, formerly with the San Francisco Giants and now the Chicago Cubs’ closer, on why weight isn’t an issue: “I’ve never seen anyone on the disabled list with pulled fat.”