In Crunch Time, His Kingdom Crumbled

Columnist Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News was not impressed by Sacramento forward Chris Webber in Game 7 of the NBA’s Western Conference finals.

“The Lakers make the NBA Finals more interesting by being there again, certainly more interesting than they would have been with Webber, who made no baskets down the stretch in regulation and one in overtime. Webber is about as much a $100-million ballplayer as Allan Houston is.

“Webber also committed the unforgivable basketball sin of getting called for a technical foul in the fourth quarter. Of Game 7. It means he pulled the same kind of rock he did when he called a timeout his Michigan team didn’t have in an NCAA championship game. When it was all on the line, he wasn’t in Shaquille O’Neal’s class, or Kobe Bryant’s.”

*

More Lupica: “The Lakers are a great team, maybe the best in the NBA since the old Lakers of Magic and Kareem and James Worthy.

“These Lakers would have given Jordan’s Bulls all they wanted, believe me. And Kobe would have given Jordan all he wanted. There are still people who act insulted when you even put Kobe in the same conversation with No. 23. They need to get over that.”

*

Trivia time: Which major league baseball player holds the record for the highest single-season batting average in his last season (minimum 100 games)?

*

Clip and save: Quarterback Jay Fiedler has thrown 34 touchdown passes and 33 interceptions in two seasons with the Miami Dolphins. But that doesn’t stop Miami Herald columnist Edwin Pope from predicting great things for Fiedler:

“This is going to be Jay Fiedler’s breakout season as a Dolphin quarterback.... Fiedler will be superior. Not just adequate. Superior.

“He might still have to convince most of South Florida starting in September. Not me. I’m sold.”

*

Call 1-900-PHIL: Ailene Voisin in the Sacramento Bee: “What was it Phil Jackson said during Lakers’ practice on Saturday? That if Shaq was successful at the foul line in the deciding seventh game of the Western Conference finals, ‘We’re home.’?

“Great. The Zen Master is clairvoyant now too.”

*

Anger management: Some Phoenix fans were irritated by the insults directed by Jason Kidd at Suns’ bigwigs, who traded Kidd to New Jersey before the season. Arizona Republic columnist Dan Bickley has a soothing solution.

“If you’re mad at Kidd for his continuing assault on Suns’ management, try to understand. What if your boss shipped you to New Jersey?”

*

Trivia answer: “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, banned from baseball in his prime because of the Black Sox scandal, batted .382 for Chicago in 1920.

*

And finally: Maybe columnist Caulton Tudor of the Raleigh News & Observer is onto something. He picked the Carolina Hurricanes to beat favored Detroit in six games for the Stanley Cup.

“There are all sorts of reasons the Carolina Hurricanes are going to win,” Tudor writes.

“There’s defense, goaltending, momentum, experience and youth. But first and foremost, the Hurricanes simply have to rate as the best team in the National Hockey League right now.”

The Hurricanes, the lowest-scoring team to reach the Stanley Cup finals, won Game 1, 3-2, on Tuesday in overtime.