Series Not Only a Dog, It’s Not a Very Cute One

Fran Blinebury of the Houston Chronicle commenting on the NBA finals:

“Considering America’s rebellious roots and penchant for invariably backing the underdog, the Knicks would seem a batch of mongrels to take into a nation’s homes and hearts.

“Instead, this series has been largely overlooked or tuned out by the masses.

“Perhaps because the outcome appears a foregone conclusion. But maybe also because the Knicks, in the role of cuddly strays, are about as embraceable as a porcupine with a grudge.”

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Trivia time: Who is the youngest winner of the men’s singles title at Wimbledon?

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Backlash: Laura Vecsey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, on a proposed five-second rule that will prevent NBA players from using the clock as they back their defender in the post:

“It’s tough to know what to call this. The Charles Barkley Ordinance. The Gary Payton Clampdown. The Patrick Ewing Annihilator.

“ ‘It used to be three or four guys were involved in the offense. Now it’s down to two,’ Spur reserve Jerome Kersey said. ‘Now you’ve got a lot of people standing around and watching.’ ”

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Nook’s niche: Tim Robbins, who played rookie minor league pitcher “Nook” LaLoosh in the movie “Bull Durham,” has donated the uniform he wore in the film to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

The uniform from the 1988 movie that starred Kevin Costner was donated by Robbins on a recent visit with his son, Miles.

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Sign-way robbery: State officials knew the highway signs pointing the way to the U.S. Open in Pinehurst, N.C., would be hot souvenirs, so they bolted them down with special “theft-proof” rivets.

Apparently, the rivets only made stealing the signs that much more of a challenge. Half of them, about 125, were stolen.

Where the thieves couldn’t separate signs from poles, they took both.

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FYI: Pitt magazine reported that the first football team to wear numbers on its jerseys was the University of Pittsburgh in 1908.

Names came later, but USC, Notre Dame and Penn State still wear name-less jerseys.

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Frustrated: Bob Smizik in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “A few New York Mets, Brian McRae among them, were upset that Manager Bobby Valentine wasn’t posting the lineup 20 hours in advance of the game.

“In other words, the players wanted the lineup posted before they left the clubhouse the night before. The reason: Their status for the next day would determine how hard they partied that night.”

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Dull days: Retired major league first baseman John Kruk laments that there are no personalities in baseball today.

“All through baseball, they all look like robots,” said Kruk, one of the game’s characters when he played. “When was the last time you saw a game and players were actually having fun?

“I’ve never seen so many guys who all look the same. No personality.”

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Please, fire me: Ron Rapoport in the Chicago Sun-Times: “You probably have a contract like this with your employer too, right?

“Minnesota basketball Coach Clem Haskins gets $3 million plus several hundred thousand in benefits if he is terminated without just cause and deferred compensation of $423,000 if he is fired with just cause.”

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For the record: The record for three-point field goals made without a miss in an NBA finals game is four by Scott Wedman of Boston against the Lakers on May 27, 1985.

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Trivia answer: Boris Becker, who was 17 when he won the title in 1985.

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And finally: Oscar De La Hoya is taking singing lessons and has signed a record deal with EMI Latin Records, according to the Associated Press.

The WBC welterweight champion has been pursued by record companies since he sang last year on the Univision TV show “Cristina,” Daily Variety reported Wednesday.