What Shaq Is Doing Is Shooting a Tray

The Lakers are closing in on their second consecutive NBA title, but Shaquille O’Neal’s free-throw form continues to draw national attention. Here’s how Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Tribune describes it:

“He shoots free throws like a waiter holding a tray--one-handed, fingertips underneath for support. ‘Who ordered the almond-crusted trout?’

“Let me stress that this is not considered good form. For delivering entrees, yes. For delivering free throws, no.

“All across America guys and gals with baskets in their driveways don’t know whether to laugh or cry when O’Neal gets fouled and goes to the line. They know they’re about to witness a guy trying to tie his shoes with oven mitts on his hands.

“And if the ball does go in the basket, somehow zooms in from its prairie-flat trajectory, physicists schedule another conference to figure out how he did that.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the NBA record for consecutive free throws made in the playoffs?

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Sharp words: After San Diego Padre pitcher Adam Eaton missed a start because of a stab wound he suffered while trying to open a DVD with a knife, Jim Rome on Fox Sports Net’s “The Last Word” said: “Brilliant. That has to be a first. And hopefully a last. Memo to all major league ballplayers: Stay away from sharp objects. Don’t mow the lawn, don’t shave and don’t cut your fingernails.”

As for what Eaton should have told Manager Bruce Bochy, Rome said: “I would have lied. I would have said I was mugged.”

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Tax man: The Wall Street Journal reports that Alex Rodriguez will owe the state of California $330,100 for the 25 games he’ll play in this state. What will he owe Texas for the 81 games he’ll play there? Nothing. Texas has no state income tax.

No wonder he signed with the Rangers.

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More on A-Rod: In his first at-bat at Dodger Stadium this week, Rodriguez was cascaded with boos.

Scott Boras, sitting behind home plate, was asked, “Why are they booing him?”

Boras: “Because they can’t boo his agent.”

It was Reggie Jackson who once said, “Fans don’t boo nobodies.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1963, Juan Marichal of the San Francisco Giants pitched a no-hitter against the Houston Colt 45s, winning 1-0, the first Giant no-hitter since Carl Hubbell’s in 1929.

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For the record: Bob Gutowski of Occidental held the pole vault record of 15-8 1/2 when it was broken by Don Bragg at the 1960 Olympic trials with a vault of 15-9 1/2.

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Trivia answer: Bill Sharman of the Boston Celtics with 56 in a row in 1959. The Celtics swept the Minneapolis Lakers in the NBA Finals that year. Sharman is the only player in NBA history to make 50 or more free throws in a row three times in his career. He did it in 1955, ‘56, and ’59.

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And finally: The wife of Baltimore Oriole outfielder Melvin Mora is expecting quintuplets. The odds of having quintuplets without the aid of fertility drugs is one in 40 to 50 million.

“For the mathematically impaired,” Steve Campbell of the Albany (N.Y.) Times says, “that’s the same odds of the Lakers losing the NBA Finals.”