From Afar, There Was No Romance in Her Eyes

Apparently, it wasn’t love at first sight for Jeanie Buss.

A guest of Jay Mariotti on KMPC (1540) Wednesday, she said she was initially against the hiring of Phil Jackson as Laker coach.

“I just didn’t want someone to come to the organization that I thought would want things done his way, needed a lot of attention, and was going to be a high-maintenance employee,” Buss said.

“That was my perception of him, just from what I knew. I had never met him before and I think that happens a lot. People’s perception of Phil is a lot different than what reality is.”

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Trivia time: Darren Dreifort stole home in the second inning of the Dodgers’ 8-4 victory over Texas on Tuesday night when Tom Goodwin was caught in a rundown between first and second. Who was the last Dodger pitcher to steal home?

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Upward bound: Stacy Dragila set a world record of 15 feet 9 1/4 inches in the women’s pole vault Saturday at Stanford. As late as 1960, that would have also been a world record in the men’s pole vault. Don Bragg vaulted 15-9 1/2 at the 1960 Olympic trials to break Dutch Warmerdam’s record of 15-7 3/4.

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Perfecto 2: One week after a Little League pitcher in the Detroit area, Robert Knight, struck out all 18 batters he faced in a six-inning perfect game, Jordan Kalisek did the same thing Tuesday night in a Little League game at Waukee, Iowa, just west of Des Moines.

The closest Kalisek came to failing to get a strikeout was when a batter popped up a foul ball just outside the first base line. His catcher dived for the ball and missed catching it.

“I’m kind of glad he missed it, because then I got the strikeout,” Kalisek said.

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Loose moose: A Little League game in Worcester, Mass., was called this week after two moose were spotted roaming near the outfield.

“At first I thought they were horses,” one coach said.

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Hawk hazard: A red-tailed hawk, protecting her nest, has been attacking golfers near the first tee at a golf course in Woodridge, Ill.

“I was bending over to pick up a golf ball and it knocked me over,” John Pontarelli said. “I didn’t know what hit me.”

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Odds-on favorite: An Internet betting site has set 10-11 odds that Barry Bonds will break Mark McGwire’s home-run record of 70. That means bettors can win $10 for every $11 they bet if Bonds does it.

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Distracted: A couple in the Berlin suburb of Mahlow were so involved in watching Ralf Schumacher defeat brother Michael in the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday that they never heard burglars break into their home through a first-story window. The burglars opened all of the drawers and closets and made off with $4,500 worth of jewelry.

The race captivated all of Germany, getting a near-record 46 rating on the German network RTL.

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Wacky poll: Dan Patrick’s poll question of the day Tuesday on his radio show and Web site was: Who was the greatest Los Angeles Laker of all time? The candidates: Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal, Jerry West, Kobe Bryant and Kurt Rambis.

Kurt Rambis? Well, he finished third, ahead of O’Neal and Bryant, in the voting. Johnson, a landslide winner, Abdul-Jabbar and West finished 1-2-3.

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Looking back: On this day in 1965, Jim Maloney of the Cincinnati Reds struck out 18 and no-hit the New York Mets for 10 innings, but Johnny Lewis’ leadoff home run in the 11th inning gave the Mets a 1-0 victory.

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Trivia answer: Don Newcombe of the Brooklyn Dodgers stole home in a game at Pittsburgh on May 26, 1955.

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And finally: HBO and NFL Films on Wednesday announced the creation of a six-week series, “Hard Knocks: Training Camp With the Baltimore Ravens,” which will make its debut Aug. 1.

Tight end Shannon Sharpe, attending a New York news conference, was asked how much research was done to determine if the Ravens were the correct team to profile during training camp.

“Research? You mean like the research NBC did on the XFL?” he said.