Black Finds the Proper Incentive to Beef Up
Jack Black, the barrel-chested comic who starred as showman Carl Denham in last summer’s “King Kong,” plays a cook and a priest-in-training who moonlights as a wrestler in his latest movie, “Nacho Libre.”
In an interview with SI.com, the surprisingly active and agile Black, 36, talked about his greatest athletic achievement.
“One time I rode my bike 16 miles,” he said. “Well, I did have to push it for some of the way.
“I was doing a movie in the Hamptons a couple of months ago. I really wanted to get a cheeseburger and I did not have a car. I heard that the best cheeseburger in all of the Hamptons was in Southampton at this place called the Driver Seat. So I drove my bike eight miles to get it, and it was worth it.”
To paraphrase Denham: It was burgers spurred the beast.
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Trivia time: The Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat are playing in their first NBA Finals. Which eight franchises have yet to make such an appearance?
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Add Hamptons: Before the NBA Finals began, when the Heat wasn’t feeling, well, the heat of being down two games to none, Bill Simmons of ESPN.com suggested Dwyane Wade keep his options open this summer.
“If you were Dwyane Wade, and you were trapped on a team with aging players and no cap space, and you knew Shaq’s career was winding down ... would you be that eager to sign an extension in Miami?
“If that were me, not only would I be planning my escape, my No. 1 goal would be to find a city where the fans didn’t dress in all-white for big playoff games, like they were attending a theme wedding in the Hamptons.”
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Imagine that: Unless he receives assurance that federal prosecutors won’t use information he provides against him, Barry Bonds won’t cooperate with Major League Baseball’s investigation into the use of performance-enhancing drugs, his attorney told the New York Daily News. “Should anyone be surprised,” wrote Dwight Perry in the Seattle Times, “that the all-time leader in intentional walks might expect a free pass?”
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A different header: England won its World Cup soccer match on an “own goal” when David Beckham’s free kick was accidentally headed by a Paraguayan defender past his own goalie. To help baseball fans visualize, Peter Schmuck wrote in the Baltimore Sun: “It was sort of the equivalent of the time that ball bounced off Jose Canseco’s head for a home run.”
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Looking back: On this date in 2000, Eric Karros hit his 229th homer, eclipsing Ron Cey as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ all-time home run king. Karros finished his 14-year career with 284 home runs -- 270 of them as a Dodger, and ranks third in franchise history behind Duke Snider, who hit 389 and Gil Hodges, 361.
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Trivia answer: The Clippers, Charlotte Bobcats, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Hornets and Toronto Raptors haven’t been in the NBA Finals.
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And finally: Jay Leno, on the woes of the U.S. team in World Cup play: “I don’t get this. Every week, 2 million people sneak across the border from Mexico. You’d think at least 11 of them could play soccer.”