These Combos Are Real Odd Duos

Greg Cote in the Miami Herald: “Any competitive endeavor, no matter how absurd, finds room under the broad, welcoming umbrella of sport. This was verified recently upon reading about ‘joggling,’ in which contestants -- I swear -- juggle while jogging. Or jog while juggling, depending on one’s strategic emphasis.

“This seems only slightly less odd when you consider that snow skiing while shooting a weapon have been married as an Olympic sport for years.

“It seems natural that the next official Olympic event to combine disciplines should be ‘grafining,’ so named because the competition involves organizing committee officials accepting graft and resigning.

“The U.S. Olympic Committee is heavily favored to pocket the gold.”

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

Tough life: Texas Ranger shortstop Alex Rodriguez gave ESPN a tour of the club’s new spring-training facility in Surprise, Ariz.

“In the outfield,” he said, “you have all the hottest chicks come to spring training and they all sit there with bathing suits. It’s hard to concentrate.”

Sibling rivalry: The Giambi brothers will be division rivals this season, Jason with the Yankees and Jeremy with the Red Sox, and are making the most of it.

“It’s the biggest rivalry in sports,” Jeremy proclaimed. “I’m ready to step up for the challenge.”

Chimed in Jason, “What better atmosphere could you have: a sellout crowd, playing against your brother. I mean, it’s basically a World Series atmosphere.”

Big stuff, all right.

League of their own: Miami Heat Coach Pat Riley quipped that he wasn’t going to let anyone wearing Air Jordans guard Michael Jordan on Sunday because they’re all, in essence, business partners.

“So that takes nine of my perimeter players out of the game,” Riley told the Miami Herald.

Bound to happen: Bill Scheft of Sports Illustrated, on former Dallas Cowboy quarterbacks Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman starting their own Winston Cup stock car racing team: “Are you thinking this will be the first car to leave a race with a concussion?”

All set up: Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel, on Mike Tyson’s recent 49-second fight: “I’m not saying Tyson’s opponent, Clifford Etienne, was a tomato can, but on the front of his boxing trunks it said, ‘Delicious spaghetti-sauce recipe on the back.’ ”

Trivia answer: Darryl Dawkins of New Jersey, 386, in 1983-84, when he broke his record of 379 set the previous season.

And finally: “Skiing doesn’t define who I am,” U.S Olympian Caroline Lalive told Ski magazine. “Someday I’m not going to be wearing a tight little suit, crashing into fences. I’m going to have a baby on one hip and a spatula of chocolate in my hand.”

The ink was barely dry on the magazine when Lalive caught a ski and crashed Saturday crossing the finish line during a World Cup downhill run in Innsbruck, Austria.

She broke two ribs and tore ligaments in her right knee.

Mal Florence