Security Excuses Sound a Bit Greasy

The Des Moines Register’s Sean Keeler isn’t happy about NBA stars passing up the Olympics.

“You could feed a family of four with the baloney coming from the mouths of some NBA stars,” Keeler wrote. “Minnesota’s Kevin Garnett, for instance, vowed to bring a couple of M-16s, a couple of grenades and a couple of missiles to Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals. But spend a couple weeks in Athens this summer? Dude, are you buggin’?

“Of the original ‘core’ of nine NBA players tabbed for Greece, only two remain committed: San Antonio’s Tim Duncan and Philadelphia’s Allen Iverson.... Security concerns. Vacation concerns, more likely.

“In August, the two most secure places in the world will be in the company of Dick Cheney or the company of U.S. coach Larry Brown.”

More Keeler: “Consider this: Iverson is willing to go to half a world away, amid all the tumult and pressure, and put up with Brown again. If ‘the Answer’ can suck it up, what’s your excuse?”

Trivia time: Who was involved in the last trade between the Dodgers and Angels?

Looking back: On this date in 1917, Boston Red Sox pitcher Ernie Shore pulled off what might be the greatest relief performance in baseball history, retiring all 26 batters he faced in a 4-0 victory over Washington. The pitcher Shore replaced? Babe Ruth.

The L.A. Norsemen? From the St. Paul Pioneer Press: “Some people who should know say they wouldn’t be surprised if owner Red McCombs, despite a Metrodome lease through 2011, tries to move the Vikings to Los Angeles after next season if he can’t sell the team for his price. Word is, McCombs now is seeking $560 million for the Vikings.”

Miniature golf: Joe Hawk of the Las Vegas Review-Journal saw some child’s play while watching the U.S. Open.

“Wasn’t that seventh green of the Open’s Shinnecock Hills Golf Club something to behold Sunday?” Hawk wrote. “All it missed was a clown’s mouth or a windmill! The least the USGA could’ve done was give a free round to any player who managed a three-putt or less.”

A Ray of light: The Tampa Bay Devil Rays’ winning streak not only pulled them out of the doldrums of a 10-28 start, it also put them on course to make history. The St. Petersburg Times, citing the Elias Sports Bureau, reports that only one team in major league history has raised its record to .500 after being 18 games or more under it, the 1899 Louisville Colonels, who were 16-38 before getting to 72-72.

Trivia answer: Outfielder Orlando Alvarez went to the Angels, and catcher Ellie Rodriguez went to the Dodgers on March 21, 1976.

And finally: Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News sees a Pacific 10 flavor to USC Coach Henry Bibby’s name surfacing as a dark-horse candidate for the Laker job:

“Well, if he’s hired and Steve Lavin ends up with Sacramento, Rob Evans with San Antonio, Bob Bender with Minnesota and Jim Harrick with Dallas,” Kawakami wrote, “then we’ve finally found a way for Mike Montgomery’s Warriors to win the conference.”