Maybe He Thinks Game is Called 23

Tom FitzGerald in the San Francisco Chronicle: “After scoring a season-high 45 points against New Orleans in Washington on Feb. 1, Michael Jordan celebrated in Atlantic City -- by losing $900,000 playing blackjack, according to the Philadelphia Daily News.

“Jordan reportedly was playing three hands at a time and betting $5,000 per hand. Look at it this way: Sometimes the triangle offense works, sometimes it doesn’t.”

Trivia time: Who holds the NBA record for personal fouls in a season?

Westwood whispers: From the Caught on the Fly column in the Sporting News: “When it comes to linking Ben Howland with UCLA, all the connect-the-dots fit. He is personable, energetic and a SoCal native, and he has been deemed the Next Big Thing in coaching. But moving to Westwood isn’t the no-brainer you’d think (please, no Steve Lavin jokes).

“Howland has his reasons why he’d like stay put at Pitt, namely: a fast-growing fan base, a brand spankin’ new arena and a momentum-filled program steamrolling forward.

“Yet another three-point play for which the Bruins have no answer.”

More Fly: “Fly’s working definition of ‘throwback jersey’: If the Brewers were to partake in a shirt-off-their-backs fan promotion, this is what the good people of Milwaukee should do.”

Waah! Dan Barreiro in the Minneapolis Star Tribune: “Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban does two things exceedingly well: accumulate talent and whine about officiating.

“Take a guess on which skill Cuban was honing after the Timberwolves’ 100-98 victory over his Mavericks on Tuesday night at Target Center.”

It was, of course, the whining, but you knew that.

Braggart: On Fox Sports Net’s “Best Damn Sports Show Period” on Tuesday, Tom Arnold was asked if he remembered where he was 13 years ago when Buster Douglas shocked the boxing world by knocking out Mike Tyson.

“Yes,” he said. “I was on my first honeymoon, and let me tell you, I was getting knocked out by a heavyweight that night too.”

Lonely: “The Montreal Expos will close their early spring-training practices to the public,” says comedy writer Alan Ray. “They want to simulate a real-game situation.”

Looking back: On this day in 1975, Julius Erving of the New York Nets scored 63 points in a 176-166 quadruple overtime loss to the San Diego Conquistadors. The 342 points set an ABA record.

Looking back again: On this day in 1988, Bobby Allison outdueled 26-year-old son Davey to win the Daytona 500 and become the first 50-year-old driver to win the NASCAR race.

Trivia answer: Darryl Dawkins of New Jersey had 386 personal fouls in 1983-84.

And finally: Paul Gascoigne, the 35-year-old former English soccer star, described his diet as a player-coach in the Chinese B-League: “I’ve tried everything. I’ve tried duck’s head. I’ve tried chicken’s head, chicken’s feet, bats and everything. And hopefully if I keep that up, I’ll be flying.”