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Schilling’s career gets blogged down

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Curt Schilling, now 42, sat out all of last season because of a shoulder injury, though he blogged that he’d consider coming back if, say, the Cubs or Tampa Bay needed a starter in the second half of this season.

Meanwhile, he offered some thoughts about his 20-year big league career.

Toughest batters he faced? Mark Lemke, Delino DeShields, Lance Berkman and Todd Helton.

Then his list of “Hitters I didn’t mind seeing at the plate”: Andres Galarraga, Todd Hollandsworth, Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Luis Gonzalez, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds.

Most dominating offensive player he played with? Manny Ramirez. No one else was “even a close second,” Schilling wrote.

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He also recalled, sadly, a Little League game when Schilling’s team had a one-run lead in the bottom of the seventh with two outs when their catcher threw a ball into right field and blew their chance to reach the Little League World Series. Schilling called it his “most heart-wrenching loss.”

Trivia time

Which golfer has the most second-place finishes at the Masters without winning the tournament?

Stimulus plan

Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor unveiled a radical discount plan to jump-start ticket sales for next season. He cut prices on 95% of the team’s season tickets and says he’ll refund unused tickets if fans lose their jobs this year. Season tickets cost as little as $5 a game, plus he’s offering no-interest payments over nine months.

Unfortunately, the T-wolves, with an 18-42 record, are the Midwest’s Clippers, so there isn’t a traffic jam at the box office. One ex-fan told the Minneapolis Star Tribune: “It ain’t just the economy keeping the fans away, Glen.”

Trophy time

With six weeks left in the regular season, beted.com makes the Lakers the favorites to win the NBA title at about 3-2 odds. The Celtics are at 2-1, Cavaliers at about 5-1, and the Spurs at almost 10-1.

Trivia answer

Tom Weiskopf finished second four times without winning.

And finally

Darryl Strawberry, who tested positive for cocaine use during his playing career, is now a guest instructor for the New York Mets. He was asked if he would have used steroids if they were available in the 1980s.

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“Hell, yeah, I would have used them. Are you kidding me?” Strawberry told the New York Daily News. “I’ve realized you are stupid when you’re 24 or 25 years old.”

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barry.stavro@latimes.com

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