That Really Would Be a Loaded Statement

Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig has said there will be no Major League Baseball celebration of Barry Bonds tying and passing Babe Ruth’s home run total.

Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle believes Bonds could have done more to endear himself to Selig, such as calling to say thanks.

Ostler envisions it going something like this: “Bud, even though it has been overlooked by the media and fans, I want you to know that I realize I never could have hit this many homers if you hadn’t worked so hard all those years to ignore baseball’s obvious steroid problem.”

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Trivia time: During Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals in 1994, the Phoenix Suns staged the biggest fourth-quarter comeback in NBA playoff history to beat the Houston Rockets, 124-117. With 10 minutes left, the Suns trailed by how many points?

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No, not Catfish Hunter: A pitcher was recently traded to the Fullerton Flyers, an independent minor league team that begins play next month, for 60 cases of beer.

A more bizarre deal was one in 1998 between the Pacific Suns of the Western Baseball League, who played for one year in Oxnard, and the Greenville (Miss.) Bluesmen. The Suns sent pitcher Ken Krahenbuhl to the Texas-Louisiana League team for 10 pounds of catfish.

Krahenbuhl turned out to be a good catch. In his first game for Greenville, he pitched a perfect game.

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Another oddball deal: A year earlier, Greenville acquired a second baseman by sending an unopened Muddy Waters album and 50 pounds of pheasant to Sioux Falls of the Northern League.

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Numbers game: Texas A&M; and the Seattle Seahawks settled their legal differences and both can continue to use the “12th Man” nickname for their fans. Predicts Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: “Next up: The two 12th Men team up to sue Jack Bauer [played by Kiefer Sutherland] and the Fox network, claiming they now own the trademark use of ‘24’.”

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Just one catch: Detroit Tiger Manager Jim Leyland went to the mound to talk with catcher Ivan Rodriguez and relief pitcher Jason Grilli after Grilli came into a recent game against Minnesota and gave up two hits on two pitches. Said Twin TV analyst Bert Blyleven: “Leyland is probably asking Rodriguez how Grilli is throwing, and Rodriguez is probably saying, ‘I don’t know; I haven’t caught one yet.’ ”

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Looking back: On this day in 1992, the Portland Trail Blazers won the highest-scoring playoff game in NBA history, 153-151, in double overtime against Phoenix in the Western Conference semifinals.

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Trivia answer: 20.

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And finally: “What are the odds that Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant would have daughters born six minutes apart?” wrote Greg Cote of the Miami Herald. “More importantly, how do we keep the two of them from growing up to inevitably star in a Paris Hilton/Nicole Richie-type reality show?”

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