Once Again, Wallace Proves He’s a Cut Above

The Detroit Pistons finally resembled champions in defeating the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, 96-79, reducing their NBA Finals deficit to 2-1. Chief among the reasons was the defensive mastery of Ben Wallace, who blocked five shots in the first quarter.

Wrote Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle: “Ben Wallace played the first two games with his hair in cornrows, but for this one he went with the wild Afro. You might say he let his hair up.”

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Trivia time: In 1968, Lee Trevino won the U.S. Open, defeating Jack Nicklaus by four strokes. What was noteworthy about his triumph?

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Aloha and au revoir: The University of Hawaii says Pierre-Henri Soero is the school’s first golfer to qualify for the U.S. Open.

French journalists say he’ll become the first amateur who is a French citizen to play in the Open, and the first player from New Caledonia, a French protectorate in the South Pacific and Soero’s home, to tee it up in the championship.

Unfortunately for Soero, who qualified with less-than-impressive scores of 70-77 at Turtle Bay and Kaanapali, he’s likely to also become the first person from all of these places to miss the U.S. Open cut.

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Flashback: Asafa Powell of Jamaica made international headlines Tuesday after replacing Tim Montgomery as the world’s fastest man, with a record time of 9.77 seconds in 100 meters on the Athens Olympic track.

On this day in 1999, Maurice Greene replaced Donovan Bailey as the fleetest of foot, with a time of 9.79 seconds, also at Athens.

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What a kick! Philadelphia Eagle kicker David Akers last week was clocked driving 107.270 mph in Richmond, Va. Fortunately, it wasn’t by the police.

An avid NASCAR fan, Akers took part in the Richard Petty Driving Experience at Richmond International Raceway and completed 18 laps -- six of them at 100 mph or faster -- on the three-quarter-mile track.

His coaches couldn’t have been pleased, but the Pro Bowl kicker did complete a safety class beforehand.

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Breathless: Derek Lee, who caught 12 passes for 133 yards and three touchdowns to help lead the Georgia Force past the Colorado Crush in Sunday’s ArenaBowl, appears to be headed for the NFL, as several teams have gotten in touch with his agent.

How did he take the news?

“I wish I had time to rest a little,” he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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Time flies: Mike Lupica in the New York Daily News before the ArenaBowl: “Arena Bowl XIX today. Wow. I know what you’re thinking. How could the first XVIII have gone by this fast?”

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Trivia answer: Trevino became the first golfer to play all four rounds of the tournament under par.

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And finally: San Jose Mercury News columnist Tim Kawakami on apparent progress being made between the NHL and players’ union: “With the right amount of promotion and good luck, soon the NHL can be almost as big as indoor soccer once again.”