Hey, Jackson Didn’t Set Off the Fireworks

Detlef Schrempf didn’t think much of Laker Coach Phil Jackson’s assertion that Tuesday’s Trail Blazer-Laker game was the biggest regular-season game in the 33 years he has been associated with the NBA.

“He always gives good quotes,” the Portland forward told the Oregonian. “I didn’t think it was that big a game, really. I was surprised there was so much hype.

” . . . Then the [pregame] fireworks and all that junk. It’s just one of a lot of games. We would have liked to win, but we have 25 more to play. If we win all of those, we’ll be in good shape.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the NCAA Division I men’s basketball record for blocked shots in a season?

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The Rocker file: Jay Mariotti in the Chicago Sun-Times on the reduction of John Rocker’s suspension: “Ignorance wins, stupidity gets the save. [Rocker] shouldn’t be allowed any sense of victory, not when he has disparaged virtually the entire human melting pot and revealed himself as a combination of Archie Bunker, Marge Schott, a pro wrestler and a prehistoric caveman.”

Cavemen were bigots?

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Crowd catch: Huge fishing nets covered the stands in Bangalore, India, Friday to prevent fans from throwing water bottles at players during a cricket match between India and South Africa.

Last year, spectators disrupted play by hurling water bottles and stones at Australian players during an Indian loss. There was similar trouble during an India-Pakistan game at the same venue.

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Hard time: “The Last Word” of Fox Sports Net’s Jim Rome on golfer Notah Begay, who is spending a week behind bars for drunk driving but is able to work on his golf game:

“I didn’t know solitary confinement consisted of playing 18 and having lunch in the grill room. I can see one of the guards screaming, ‘Get up, Begay. You have a 7:30 tee time!’ ”

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More Rome: “I guess if you have to commit a crime, you’re better off doing it in New Mexico. What’s the worst that can happen? You might shave a few strokes off your handicap.”

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Extreme measures: Asked before Tuesday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors who was going to guard high-scoring Vince Carter, Chicago Bull Coach Tim Floyd said, “We called Marty McSorley, but he wasn’t available.”

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Trivia answer: David Robinson of Navy, 207 in 35 games in 1985-86.

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And finally: Lou Holtz’s son says a one-year extension of his contract after South Carolina’s 0-11 record in his father’s debut last season is no guarantee of future employment.

“If we go 0-11, 0-11 and 0-11, I don’t expect this to keep happening,” said Skip Holtz, the team’s offensive coordinator. “I won’t be here. He’ll fire me.”