Laker Foes Need to Work on Double Team

Miami Heat Coach Pat Riley told Bob Rubin of the Miami Herald that the Lakers have four superstars in Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant:

“I say that because both of them are so good and so versatile. They are far superior to any tandem in the league, especially with the dominance of Shaq and the greatness of Phil Jackson as a coach.

“You can surround those two multifaceted players with great role players--and maybe one other scorer--and I think you’re going to be very hard to beat.”

*

Trivia time: Who holds the Pacific 10 Conference bowl record for most consecutive pass completions?

*

Touchy, touchy: During his recent scoring slump, reporters asked Pittsburgh Penguin star Jaromir Jagr if he had an explanation for his lack of production.

“I don’t know,” he said. “If I would know, I would tell you. Don’t ask me that question right now. Do you want to go into my mind right now? Leave me alone. You understand?”

*

Tough guy: Skip Bayless, on Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre, after the Packers’ 28-6 victory over the Bears on Sunday night:

“Here was a combination Sid Luckman-Dick Butkus, a quarterback who has played as hard off the field as on it, a throwback who can throw a football through a wall or a needle’s eye, a fighter who loves to play this bone-breaking game as much as any linebacker.

“Has any great QB had less regard for his body?”

*

Rich get richer: Mark Kriegel in the New York Daily News: “The way I’m hearing it, that last-minute snag in the [Mike] Mussina negotiations [with the Yankees] had to do with his place on the victory float.”

And this from Jerry Greene of the Orlando Sentinel: “This just in--the New York Yankees have purchased Peru.”

*

Home away from home: Blair Kerkhoff in the Kansas City Star:

“The next time somebody wants to advance the ‘What’s good for Notre Dame is good for college football theory,’ I’ll remind them that one of the hot-selling souvenirs at Nebraska is an aerial shot of Notre Dame Stadium the day the Cornhuskers invaded. Nearly half the fans are wearing red.”

*

No way: Miami Heat forward Don MacLean was suspended for five games for using steroids, but TNT’s Charles Barkley has this take: “I’ve seen MacLean naked [in the locker room]. He’s not using steroids!”

*

Let’s wait a bit: Brian Schmitz in the Orlando Sentinel: “No collection of players is rowing in the same direction more effectively than the Dolphins--except maybe for the Vikings, whose heritage probably calls for them to have that rowing thing down.

“Miami’s defense against Minnesota’s offense would make for a juicy Super Bowl in Tampa, wouldn’t it?”

*

Looking back: On this day in 1941, UCLA and USC played to a 7-7 tie at the Coliseum. It wasn’t a vintage year for either school. UCLA had a 5-5-1 record, USC was 2-6-1.

*

Trivia answer: UCLA’s Rick Neuheisel, 10, against Illinois in the 1984 Rose Bowl game.

*

And finally: After horse trainer Nick Zito appeared for a taping of ESPN’s “Two-Minute Drill,” Zito and anchor Kenny Mayne offered differing perspectives on the experience.

“I really enjoyed myself on the show,” Zito said. “The people I was on with were a great bunch of guys.”

Said Mayne: “The fact he kept running out to an OTB down the street to check on his horses didn’t really set the show back too much. And the barn manure he dragged onto the set cleaned up without a great amount of effort.”