This Team Really Out of This World

Kevin Sherrington in the Dallas Morning News: “Even before the Mavericks made history by signing a player from China, they already were the United Nations flagship team.

“Besides Wang Zhizhi, they now have players from Germany [Dirk Nowitzki], Canada [Steve Nash], Nigeria [Obinna Ekezie] and Mexico [Eduardo Najera].

“In the last couple of seasons, they had one from Australia [Chris Anstey], another from Croatia [Bruno Sundov] and a visitor from Mars [Dennis Rodman].”

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Trivia time: Who won the first playoff in the Masters tournament?

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International intrigue: Ron Rapoport in the Chicago Sun-Times: “The campaign to succeed Juan Antonio Samaranch as president of the International Olympic Committee could be one of the most entertaining fights we’ve seen in a long time.

“On the one hand, you have Richard Pound, who was one of the chief investigators of the vote-buying scandal that led to the resignation of 10 IOC members. On the other hand, there is Kim Un Yong of South Korea, who was implicated in the scandal and nearly banished himself.

“Inspector Javert vs. Jean Valjean, in other words.”

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Baseball tidbits: From the Baltimore Sun, reasons to hate the 2001 season:

* “Mike Mussina looks really good in a Yankee uniform.

* “Tigers, Twins and Royals play each other a total of 57 times.”

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Conditional pals: Arnold Palmer, after his recent televised match with longtime rival Jack Nicklaus on Shell’s “Wonderful World of Golf”:

“I hate him when we’re playing, and he hates me. But when we walk off the golf course, it’s great to have a friend like Jack Nicklaus.”

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Case closed: Dave Kindred in the Sporting News: “If Tiger [Woods] wins a fourth straight [major], even across two seasons, just forget the words Grand Slam.

“Call it the Tiger Slam and wait another century before anyone else does it.”

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Listen up: Sam Mitchell, 37, of the Minnesota Timberwolves is a role player and grinder and realizes what some of his peers don’t--that he has a pretty good life.

“Like I tell these guys all the time, this is not the real world,” Mitchell said. “The real world is all those guys on Wall Street right now tearing their hair out.

“My goal is to never live in the real world if I don’t have to. I’m going to play until they throw me out.”

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I think I got it: Nebraska’s Josh Brown says the biggest advantage of being the team’s kicker is memorizing his position’s playbook: “It’s one play--don’t miss.”

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Trivia answer: Gene Sarazen defeated Craig Wood in 36 holes by a five-stroke margin in 1935, the second year the tournament was held.

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And finally: Dallas Maverick owner Mark Cuban in an interview with Dan Patrick in ESPN the Magazine:

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Patrick: “How about those fines, totaling $400,000? Do you make out the checks to the NBA or to David Stern, or what?”

Cuban: “I deliver pennies in an armored truck to the league, and they can split them up however they want.”