It’s Obvious Bulls Have Gone by the Boards

You’ve heard of numbers being retired, now it’s lockers.

The lockers once belonging to Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen are now covered by boards, out of respect to the players who led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles.

The Bulls are in the midst of a major rebuilding effort. Jordan retired, and the rest of the championship team scattered soon after. Pippen now plays for the Houston Rockets.

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Trivia time: Who holds the Pacific 10 Conference record for three-point field-goal percentage in a season?

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Last word: Seattle SuperSonic center Olden Polynice, on his thoughts after a Salt Lake City fan recently yelled that his initials stand for overpaid:

“I was like, ‘You’re right, I am overpaid.’ But you’re the dummy who paid to watch me.”

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Guessing game: Blackie Sherrod in the Dallas Morning News: “What’s in a name? Velvet Milkman, Saturday morning cartoon character? No, Murray State women’s golf coach. Sean Casey, Irish poet? Try Reds’ first base prospect.”

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Just a game: Former NBA player Doc Rivers, commenting on TV on San Antonio’s David Robinson: “He won’t play with passion. He plays basketball because he’s good at it, not because he loves it.”

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Small contribution: Toronto Raptor Charles Oakley, comparing his first return trip to New York since being traded to that of hockey’s Mark Messier:

“He brought the Rangers a [Stanley] Cup. I just brought the Knicks a glass of water.”

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His kind of guy: Denver Bronco linebacker Bill Romanowski, on the acquisition of free-agent cornerback Dale Carter: “This is a guy who can cover anybody and knock the you-know-what out of you. He’s got a little nasty in him, and I like to see that.”

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Waaah! Golden State veteran Terry Cummings, on Utah’s Karl Malone: “[Malone] is a big baby. The fact of the matter is, that team whines more than anybody I’ve ever played against.”

He has perspective because this is his 16th season in the NBA.

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Oversight: Dave Jones, Utah state legislator, on the failure to spot excessive spending by Salt Lake City’s bid committee in the Olympic bribery scandal:

“We looked at budgets, but we didn’t see a line item for bribery.”

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Disparity: Minnesota Timberwolves’ rookie center Trevor Winter, after seeing teammate Kevin Garnett’s $21-million-a-year pay stub: “I’ve got about what they took out of his check for Medicaid.”

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Trivia answer: Steve Kerr of Arizona, .573 in 1988.

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And finally: Bernie Lincicome of the Chicago Tribune, in his question and answer column:

“Q: Why does Mark McGwire need a bodyguard in spring training?

“A: Bodyguards need to get in shape too. First they push around retirees and old men in walkers in Florida, and then by opening day, they can beat up middle-aged fans in St. Louis.”