For $7.5 Million, Pistons Get Hill of a Bargain

Detroit Piston forward Grant Hill is the best bargain in the NBA, according to a system devised by Bloomberg news service.

The system ranks the players in the key categories--from scoring to blocked shots--and then ranks them again by salary.

Hill, who makes $7.5 million a year, got a rating of plus-20.

Orlando Magic guard Darrell Armstrong ranked second with a plus-14 and Vancouver Grizzly forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim was third at plus-12.

With a league-high $17.1-million annual salary, Laker center Shaquille O’Neal was only 19th with a minus-2.

Ranked least productive was Washington Wizard forward Juwan Howard, 25th in production and tied for third in salary which translates to a minus-22 rating.

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It figures: The Clippers’ highest-paid player, guard Pooh Richardson at $3.46 million, wasn’t even rated. That’s because he was waived before the season began.

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Say what? Told that Hill was the league’s best bargain, teammate Jerome Williams commented, “Grant is like the president of the United States, grossly underpaid.”

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Trivia time: Which team is the worst in the NBA when comparing payroll to victories?

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It beats buying a ticket: In honor of Valentine’s Day, the Philadelphia 76ers selected 76 couples to participate in a halftime wedding ceremony at Tuesday night’s game against the Charlotte Hornets.

Unusual appeals to participate were given high priority. For example, one man claimed he’d hyperventilated an hour before his wedding four years ago, then passed out four times at the altar. He and his wife wanted to renew their vows under more serene conditions.

They must not be familiar with Philadelphia fans.

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Ringing endorsement: How crazy have things gotten in Cincinnati since the Reds obtained outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. last week?

Manager Jack McKeon, who lives in Elon College, N.C., told the Burlington (N.C.) Times-News that the phone lines into team headquarters have been so jammed, he can’t even reach his own office.

“I haven’t been able to call in there in two days,” he said.

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Five-year plan: When Jesse Belanger scored a pair of goals for the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night, he broke a drought that had reached nearly five years.

Belanger, recalled from Quebec of the AHL before the game, had not scored in the NHL since April 6, 1995, when he was with the Vancouver Canucks.

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Trivia answer: Washington with a $53-million payroll, but only 15 wins. Good luck, Michael Jordan.

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And finally: By signing a four-year, $12-million contract with the Atlanta Falcons, middle linebacker Jessie Tuggle figures he can finish his career with the team, which he has been with for 13 seasons.

“I’ll never have to put on another helmet,” Tuggle said.

Seventeen years with the Falcons and that’s a good thing? Sounds as if Tuggle has been playing without a helmet.