‘Bad Boy’ Appears to Have Bad Memory

It’s not quite revisionist history, but there’s definitely something missing in the logic. In a column claiming that the best athletes all have “a mean streak, a killer instinct,” ESPN.com’s Rob Ryder used as an example the “Bad Boys’ ” spiritual leader, Isiah Thomas.

As such, Ryder asked Thomas “a while back” about the Detroit Pistons’ four-game sweep of the two-time defending champion Lakers in the 1989 NBA Finals.

“How’d you guys pull that off?” Ryder asked.

“We knocked them down, put a foot on their neck and stuck a knife in their heart. Four straight games,” Thomas said and smiled that choirboy smile of his, Ryder wrote. “They never knew what hit them.”

Yeah, Zeke, those series-ending hamstring injuries suffered by Magic Johnson and Byron Scott had nothing to do with it, nothing at all.

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Trivia time: What was the Lakers’ playoff record in 1989 before the Finals?

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Doubting Thomas: Although Ryder seems to respect Thomas’ will to win, he thinks less of Thomas’ ego. “This is that same smile that New York Knicks fans will soon grow to detest,” Ryder wrote of the Knick president. “How do I know? I’ve got friends in the Continental Basketball Association, which Isiah single-handedly destroyed a few years ago. Greed and hubris. Killer instinct run amok.”

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Looking back: On this date in 1971, the Milwaukee Bucks became the second team to pull off a four-game sweep in the NBA Finals, beating the Baltimore Bullets, 118-106, in Game 4. The Boston Celtics swept the Minneapolis Lakers in 1959.

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The one: In homage to “Friends,” the Dallas Morning News’ Evan Grant took a cue from the soon-to-be-ending show and assigned “The one ... ,” just as every episode is titled, to every major league team. As for the locals, Grant had catcher Paul Lo Duca starring in the Dodgers’ sitcom, “The one with the new owner,” and owner Arte Moreno starring in the Angels’ episode, “The one with the cheap beer.”

How about, “The one with too much time on his hands,” starring Grant?

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Looking back II: On this date in 1976, Muhammad Ali won a 15-round unanimous decision over Jimmy Young to retain his world heavyweight title in Landover, Md.

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On second thought: So you think the Pistons welcomed fiery forward Rasheed Wallace with open arms when he joined the team in a late-season trade? It sounds as though they initially had their doubts.

“Rasheed has been a big plus for us,” guard Richard Hamilton said on “Best Damn Sports Show Period.” “He’s been a blessing in disguise.”

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Trivia answer: The Lakers were 11-0 with sweeps of the Portland Trail Blazers (3-0), the Seattle SuperSonics (4-0) and the Phoenix Suns (4-0) before falling to the Pistons.

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And finally: Jay Leno, on the Celtics’ adding a dance team, “They’ve been the only team in the NBA without cheerleaders. Technically, the Clippers don’t have cheerleaders. They have a team of what they call grief counselors.”