Canseco Drives While Under Riviera Influence

The morning newspaper reported there is an arrest warrant out in Miami for former baseball player Jose Canseco for breaking probation after pleading guilty to aggravated battery. With Canseco officially on the lam, my concern, of course, was how this might affect his play in Saturday’s Nissan Open Celebrity-Am at Riviera.

A circuit judge issued the arrest warrant because Canseco has failed to begin community service, presumably because he has been working on his golf game.

In addition, he reportedly has not taken anger control classes, and I say reportedly, because I wasn’t going to ask and make him angry.

He was also ordered not to leave Florida for more than 30 days, but his probation officer said he has been in L.A. since Dec. 20 because anyone who has played Riviera knows how long it takes to get used to the kikuyu grass.

I would think you’d have to say the time he has taken to sharpen his golf game has paid off. His team went 12 under par at Riviera, and by comparison, Clipper General Manager Elgin Baylor’s team finished nine under, and with all the golf Baylor gets to play, there’s no way Canseco could have held his own if stuck doing probation in Florida.

I’m sure he just needs to explain that to the judge and everything will be fine.

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THE LIGHT was out above Clipper guard Andre Miller’s locker Saturday night. Ordinarily that might be considered a bad omen, but Donald Sterling owns the team and is probably just trying to save money.

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ALVIN GENTRY, almost always upbeat, has been dealing recently both with a disappointing basketball season and his mother’s illness.

“This has been the season from hell,” Gentry said, while appearing as low as he has all season long before Saturday night’s game. “It’s killing me. I can’t seem to get this thing turned around, and I really thought we would.”

The Clippers probably will begin a new coaching search at season’s end, but it’ll be another mistake for a franchise already hard to embrace. A combination of injuries and immature players have hurt the team’s chances for success, not the guy coaching. He deserves more time -- if he wants to put himself through this again.

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I WENT to the King game Saturday, they lost, 3-2, to the Islanders and goalie Jamie Storr said the Kings just need “to take it one game at a time.” This is why I can take about one King game a season. He said the loss to New York means nothing more than getting ready for the next game. I suggested he was clueless because time is running out.

“What if I put a 400-pound plate of spaghetti in front of you and told you to eat it all?” Storr said. “You’d start by taking one bite at a time.”

I left, settling for one good quote at a time.

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IT’S NOT a major tournament, but it might be a major moment in Phil Mickelson’s life today, teeing off in the same group as Tiger Woods with Tiger coming off knee surgery and playing with inferior equipment. Mickelson gets the chance to cement his reputation as a choker or set the stage for a wonderful rivalry down the road. (Frankly, I’m just hoping he can hang with Brad Faxon.)

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THE DODGERS named the bunting area at Dodgertown “Maury’s Pit” in honor of Maury Wills. Wills christened the area by cracking open a bottle of champagne. It’s the first bottle of champagne used by any kind of Dodger since 1988.

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A FILM crew from the Discovery Channel’s “Unsolved History” documented the Staples Center changeover from hockey to basketball Saturday as part of a show it’s doing on arena changeovers. The Roman Colosseum apparently was flooded with as much as five feet of water to conduct boat races, and then the stadium was reconfigured for events that involved chariots or lions. The way the Clippers have been playing, I wouldn’t be opposed to adding lion pens to Staples Center.

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DURING EARLY coverage of the Buick Invitational, TV conducted a poll, asking viewers who is currently the best golfer in the world. Ernie Els finished ahead of Tiger. (I’m betting Mickelson made a few of those calls).

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MIKE GIURBINO Jr. pulled out his driver at the Fullerton Golf Course, whacked the ball as hard as he could -- more than 100 yards -- and recorded the first hole in one in his 6-year-old life. His father has never had a hole in one, but he’s now experienced the thrill of buying drinks for everyone in the clubhouse.

“It’s coming out of [the kid’s] bank account,” Dad said.

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AT HALFTIME of Friday’s Laker-Spur game, Fox’s Barry LeBrock asked NBA expert Jack Haley what players of value the Lakers had to trade to get value in return. Haley said that was a good question but also made it clear he wanted no part of a question that might upset some of the Lakers. He offered the names of Slava Medvedenko and Tracy Murray, two guys who won’t turn him down for interviews. I can’t imagine Bill Walton bailing out on a tough question.

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UCLA LOST to Arizona State and Arizona by the combined score of 191-139, while USC lost to the same two schools by a combined score of 194-137. I guess you could say things are looking up for UCLA.

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TODAY’S LAST word comes in e-mail from Kimberly Sizemore:

“I find it especially offensive of you to suggest that LeBron James should spend time in jail whether it be a Clipper jail or the big house. He can’t help being a misguided knucklehead any more than you can. At least there’s hope for him.”

Not the way the Clippers are playing.

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T.J. Simers can be reached at t.j.simers@latimes.com.