Don’t Play Center for Playboy, Writer Says

Lisa Harrison of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury is considering an offer believed to be $100,000 to pose for Playboy magazine. Her WNBA salary is $40,000.

Miami Herald columnist Linda Robertson gave her some free advice last week.

“Don’t take the $100,000,” she wrote.

“Not only is it a cheap prize for winning the magazine’s ‘Sexiest Babes of the WNBA’ poll, but you’d be as underpaid by Playboy as you are by the WNBA.

“Don’t become another trophy in Hugh Hefner’s collection.

“Don’t confuse little girls. Don’t tell them they’ve got to be sexy to be famous. Don’t let them equate fitness or grace with sexuality.

“Don’t change your identity from Lisa Harrison, basketball player, to Lisa Harrison, Playboy alumna.”

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Trivia time: Serena Williams is the two-time defending champion of the Estyle.com Classic, now underway at Manhattan Beach. Who are the only other consecutive winners of the event?

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Bubbleheaded?: From Bud Geracie in the San Jose Mercury News: “A bobblehead doll of Ichiro Suzuki was bought on EBay for $290 by a bobblehead human.”

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Add Geracie: Geracie had this comment on the Battle at Bighorn, the made-for-TV golf event: “[It’s] proof that more people need to get a life.”

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Come again?: The Boston Globe ran a poll to determine New England’s all-time top 100 athletes. Finishing one-two were Ted Williams and Bill Russell.

Excuse me, but isn’t Ted Williams from San Diego? And isn’t Bill Russell from Oakland?

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All done?: The San Francisco Chronicle’s Bruce Jenkins is skeptical of the Dodgers’ chances.

“Jim Tracy has done a commendable job--but in the process of being swept by Cincinnati, they looked spent and ordinary. There’s no way pitchers like Luke Prokopec can continue masking the loss of Kevin Brown, Darren Dreifort and Andy Ashby. There’s little chance the Dodger bullpen can hold up through September.

“And when it comes to on-field leadership, Shawn Green, Gary Sheffield and Eric Karros just don’t have that ‘look.”’

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Oh, the pain: Dan LeBatard of the Miami Herald recently interviewed Florida Marlin catcher Charles Johnson about the pain of errant pitches and foul tips.

“Getting hit in the cup is the worst,” he told LeBatard.

“I had to go to the hospital once after that happened. When it happens, you’re like: ‘Why didn’t I become a first baseman?’ No. 2 is the shoulder. It will affect your throwing for three or four days. The toe is the third. That’s terrible.

“No. 4 is the wrist because there’s no muscle or fat to protect you. And No. 5 is when you get a foul tip off the mask and your chin and jaw lock up. It hurts to eat after that. I’ve had foul tips crack my shinguards too, and your legs go numb--but that wouldn’t crack the top five.”

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Hog Wild: Detroit Lion President Matt Millen welcomed more than 200 Harley-Davidson riders for a gathering before Saturday’s practice. The team delayed full-contact drills until the afternoon so Millen’s guests could watch.

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Trivia answer: Monica Seles (1990-91) and Martina Navratilova (1992-93).

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And finally: Greg Cote of the Miami Herald commented recently on the appearance of billboards bought by an animal rights group protesting sportfishing. The billboards depict a dog with a fishhook stuck in its lip.

Cote: “Hey, if a dog wants to swim where I’m fishing, that’s up to him.”