It’s His Idea of State Diplomacy

Mike Montgomery, coach of Stanford’s top-ranked men’s basketball team, commenting before Thursday night’s game against Washington State, winless in 13 Pacific 10 games:

“There’s no way they’re an 0-for-13 team in the conference. That just happens to be what their record is.”

Well, WSU’s record is 0-14 after Stanford’s easy 89-52 victory--but no matter because that “just happens” to be the Cougars’ record.

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Trivia time: Which are the only Pacific 10 Conference schools to have won the National Invitation Tournament?

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High anxiety: Tom FitzGerald in the San Francisco Chronicle: “How many goalkeepers from Marseille does it take to change a lightbulb?

“Two, apparently. Goalie Stephane Porato will miss two games in the French soccer league after falling off a ladder and suffering a sprained knee while changing a light bulb at home.”

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Passing Go: NBA officials cringed when the Minnesota Timberwolves gave Kevin Garnett a $126-million contract 2 1/2 years ago. Wait until they see what might be next.

Garnett could command as much as $282 million when he becomes a free agent after the 2003-04 season, about 3 1/2 times what Glen Taylor paid for the franchise five years ago, and about three times what Michael Jordan earned in salary during his career.

“It’s all Monopoly play money anyway,” said Flip Saunders, the Timberwolves’ general manager-coach.

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Fascinating: The International Table Tennis Federation is going to a larger ball designed to make the game more appealing on TV. The ball’s diameter will increase from 1.5 inches to 1.6.

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Only way to play: If you’re a golf lover and win a lottery, what do you do with the money? Why, buy a golf course, naturally.

That’s what Jim Sheets of Chattanooga, Tenn., did when he won the seven-state Big Game lottery. Sheets expects to close a deal on a public course that was in foreclosure and had an asking price of $2 million.

An added benefit: He won’t have any problems getting preferred starting times.

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Looking back: On this day in 1987, Michael Jordan scored 58 points, the most by a Chicago player in a regular-season game, to lead the Bulls to a 128-113 victory over the New Jersey Nets.

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Trivia answer: UCLA, 1984-85 season; Stanford, 1990-91, and California, 1998-99.

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And finally: Matt Malm is attending 365 sporting events on consecutive days throughout the United States and Canada.

A motor home company in Houston donated a 36-foot RV, and Malm keeps it stocked with pretzels, licorice, cookies and cupcakes.

Wonder what he eats for dessert.