He Could Become a Big Shot in Retirement

Reggie Miller, about to embark on his rookie season as a TNT basketball commentator, is also a rookie in the movie business. He is co-producer on “Beautiful Ohio,” along with Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank and her husband, Chad Lowe. The movie began filming in New York this week.

While in New York, Miller will fill in for Regis Philbin on his ABC show Friday, and then take in Game 3 of the American League division series when the Yankees play the Angels. No question as to whom Miller will be rooting for. His brother Darrell was an Angel from 1984-88.

“I’ll be at Yankee Stadium, in the lions’ den, in Angel attire, representing my team,” Miller told ESPN Radio.

He’d better hope he doesn’t run into Spike Lee.

Trivia time: What college football team holds the NCAA record for most points scored against a major college opponent?

In a forgiving mood: After the Chicago White Sox’s 14-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox in Game 1, Ron Rapoport of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote, “I feel so good I’m going to forgive Chris Berman for calling [left fielder] Scott Podsednik’s problems with a ball hit by David Ortiz in the eighth inning ‘The Podsednik Adventure.’ ”

No curtain call: Mike Piazza, working the playoffs as a guest commentator for ESPN, noted that White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski’s reward for his three-run homer in the first inning was to have to put on his chest protector, shin guards and mask.

Catchers, Piazza pointed out, don’t have an opportunity to mug for cameras.

Crash landing: Greg Cote of the Miami Herald, after Florida Marlin owner Jeffery Loria proclaimed his team’s 2005 performance “a great season until the last two weeks,” wrote: “Which is sort of like saying it was a great family vacation ‘til the car went off the cliff.”

Time to buckle up: Mike “Pinball” Clemons, coach of football’s Toronto Argonauts, was a guest on a talk radio station when a police officer called in asking Clemons for his driver’s license number. The officer had spotted him driving without a seat belt.

“The police officer was very gentlemanly,” Clemons told the Toronto Star. “He reminded me that my life was more important and I should wear my seat belt.”

Clemons did not say whether he got a ticket.

Looking back: On this day in 1990, Stacey Robinson set an NCAA quarterback rushing record with 308 yards and scored five touchdowns to lead Northern Illinois to a 73-18 victory over Fresno State, which went into the game as a heavy favorite.

Trivia answer: Houston, which defeated Tulsa, 100-6, on Nov. 23, 1968.

And finally: The San Francisco 49ers managed only 168 yards of offense in their 31-14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Mexico City on Sunday night.

“While the language barrier was a bit of a problem,” wrote reader Janice Hough, “some fans figured out that the term 49ers must refer to the team’s average yards per game on offense.”

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