Sounds Like a Typical Day in Hollywood

Brian Mann, backup quarterback for the Los Angeles Avengers, spent the last three months filming a remake of “The Longest Yard,” due out in May.

Mann served as the stunt double for star Adam Sandler.

“I had to do three things I thought I’d never do,” Mann told The Times’ Sam Farmer, who is among sportswriters making cameo appearances in the movie. “I dyed my hair, shaved my legs and got a fake tan.”

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Look-alikes: An ideal double for Sandler in non-football scenes would be Avenger owner Casey Wasserman.

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Trivia time: What number does the Indiana Pacers’ Ron Artest wear on his jersey, and what is its significance?

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Makes sense: Phil Jackson, on FSN’s “Best Damn Sports Show Period,” talked about why he decided to write a book about his experiences last season.

“I wrote the book for myself because if I ever wanted to come back to coaching, I’d look at last season and tell myself, ‘You’re crazy -- stay out of it,’ ” he said.

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An expert: FSN’s Tom Arnold, on Kobe Bryant’s playing without Shaquille O’Neal: “It’s best to be a co-star of a great movie than a star of a mediocre movie. I know that from experience.”

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Amount doesn’t matter: The New York Daily News, citing a Golf Digest article, reported that Bill Gates, who is worth $48 billion, and Warren Buffett, who is worth $41 billion, bet $2 a match when they play golf.

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Love-love: It’s “Singles Night” at the WTA Tour Championships tonight at Staples Center. For the advance price of $35, singles get to mingle at a cocktail party in a private suite, and one free drink is included.

The idea is not original. The Washington Wizards have scheduled five “Singles Night” promotions this season, prompting Brad Rock of Salt Lake City’s Deseret News to write, “Seems like an OK idea, except this: Who wants to date someone who attends Wizards’ games?”

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Rise and shine: Unbeaten Boise State plays at San Jose State on Saturday at 9:07 a.m. to accommodate ESPN2. Noting that San Jose State’s average attendance is only 6,949, the worst of any Division I-A school, Mike Hlas of the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette wrote, “Playing at 9 a.m. is not the best way to pack the stands.

“Boise State will probably have a three-touchdown lead by the time the San Jose State students get out of bed.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1984, Wild Again won the $3-million Breeders’ Cup Classic in the inaugural Breeders’ Cup at Hollywood Park.

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Trivia answer: 91, as a tribute to Dennis Rodman. It is Artest’s third number in his five-plus seasons in the NBA. Artest, who wore No. 23 last season as a tribute to Michael Jordan, says he wants to wear as many numbers as possible before he retires.

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And finally: “Sounds like somebody put a cork in that deal to bring Sammy Sosa to the Dodgers,” Channel 9’s Alan Massengale said. “No truth, however, that it was Sammy who supplied the cork.”

Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.