A Whole Roster of Throwback Jerseys

Prep basketball star LeBron James -- oops, make that former prep basketball star LeBron James -- of St. Vincent-St. Mary High in Akron, Ohio, may be the latest high school phenom, but is he the greatest?

ESPN.com is conducting a poll to pick the top high school athlete of all time from its top 10: James, Wilt Chamberlain, Overbrook High in Philadelphia; Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Power Memorial, New York; Connie Hawkins, Boys High, New York, and Lisa Leslie, Inglewood Morningside, in basketball; Tiger Woods, Western High, Anaheim, in golf; Marion Jones, Rio Mesa and Thousand Oaks High, and Jim Ryun, East High, Wichita, Kan., in track and field, and Tim Couch, Leslie County High, Hyden, Ky., and Ken Hall, Sugar Land High, Sugar Land, Texas, in football.

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Missed the cut: Kobe Bryant, who averaged 30.8 points, 12 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 3.8 blocked shots at Lower Merion High in Ardmore, Pa.

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Trivia time: What are the only two days of the year when no games will be scheduled by any of the four major pro sports, baseball, football, basketball and hockey?

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On the money: In the wake of James’ high school career ending prematurely because he accepted two retro jerseys from a sporting goods store, Ohio attorney Lee Plakas told the Akron Beacon-Journal, “The person who should be investigated is anyone in Ohio who spent $450 for a vintage Wes Unseld jersey.”

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Capital crisis: President Bush may appear to have his plate full, but Patrick Hruby of the Washington Times thinks the president should be leaving room for dessert.

Writes Hruby: “We know, we know the man has a country to lead, a war to fight, a flagging economy to prop up.... Still, is it too much to ask that President Bush take a few hours out of his crowded schedule to root for the Washington Redskins? Or at least catch a Mystics game? ... [Bush] has never been to a game in the Washington area.

“The Lakers draw Hollywood A-listers like Jack Nicholson and Salma Hayek. The New York Knicks practically have an extra spot on their bench for superfan-cum-director Spike Lee. Even the Angels ... get bad boy actor Charlie Sheen.... Here, in the world’s most powerful city, by contrast, we’re stuck with Tim Russert, Jessie Armstead and that guy from ‘The West Wing.’

“And that’s on a good night.”

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Still wowing ‘em: Dodger Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax presented the 2002 National League Cy Young award to Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks Sunday night at the New York baseball writers’ dinner.

San Francisco Giant slugger Barry Bonds, whose favorite ballplayer has always been himself, leaned over to Johnson on the dais and said, “Did you ever think you’d be sitting up here with Sandy Koufax?”

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Trivia answer: The day before and the day after baseball’s All-Star game in July.

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And finally: “This Raider thing is wearing thin,” writes Scott Ostler in the San Francisco Chronicle. “Maybe it’s time for Al Davis to sue himself for misleading himself on the Raiders’ move back to Oakland, and use the cash to move the team back to L.A., where he can settle in and start threatening to move the team back to Oakland.”

-- Steve Springer