But Isn’t All That Hair Oil Unhealthy?

Michelle Kaufman, commenting in the Miami Herald on now-health-conscious Miami Heat Coach Pat Riley:

“He craved cigarettes only during the season.

“Before practice. After practice. During games. After games. Then there were the rum and Cokes, the chocolate bars, cookies, heavy pasta meals.

“Exercise? Who had time?

“Riley might have looked like a healthy NBA coach two years ago, but he didn’t always feel like it....

“ ‘Two years ago, I quit all the bad things -- well, most of them, anyway. I feel much better.’

“Riley’s diet -- breakfast: Oatmeal with raisins, berries, egg whites. Lunch: Salads and fruit. Dinner: Chicken, fish. Sleep habits: Midnight to 5 a.m. Exercises: One hour a day [Stairmaster, weightlifting].”

Trivia time: Who holds UCLA’s game record for yards passing?

Ganging up: Nick Peters in the Sacramento Bee: “Perhaps it’s a good omen, but J.T. Snow and Benito Santiago have been thriving in the playoffs ever since they began challenging Barry Bonds to home run contests during batting practice.

“Why two against one? ‘Because he’s got 600 homers and we’ve got about 300,’ Snow said. [Actually, it’s 613-365].”

Impostor? Jim Reeves of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, on Dallas Cowboy Coach Dave Campo: “Grab your popcorn and soda because the current feature at Valley River Ranch stars a defensive coordinator named Dave being asked to impersonate a head coach in the NFL.”

Remember? Ron Rapoport in the Chicago Sun-Times: “The Angels are riding high now and it’s time to forget all the sad stuff and remember how they made us laugh.

“How, when Gene Autry introduced Bill Rigney as the team’s first manager, he said he tried to get Casey Stengel, but had ended up with

In the dark: Tony Kornheiser on ESPN: “Going into the playoffs, I could have named only three Angels, and that’s if you spotted me Della Reese and Roma Downey.”

Greeting impairment: Philadelphia 76er star Allen Iverson scored 28 points in an exhibition game Sunday, despite having recently broken the middle finger on his shooting hand.

Zack Tyler of KSJO-FM in San Jose, however, fears the injury “will affect his ability to greet reporters.”

Just wondering: Tom FitzGerald in the San Francisco Chronicle: “A 55-yard Denver field goal with 45 seconds left is trumped by a 53-yard Miami field goal with six seconds left.

“Look, it’s Denver. Should those footballs be stored in a humidor?”

Trivia answer: Cade McNown, 513, against Miami in 1998.

And finally: “On Friday, ESPN credited itself for the scoop on Buck Showalter taking the Texas job,” said Phil Mushnick of the New York Post. “Mazel tov! Showalter, after all, until he accepted the job, was an ESPN employee.

“This just in: ‘ESPN has learned that the soup of the day at the ESPN cafeteria is tomato bisque.’ ”