At least one Laker has a killer instinct

It’s curious that despite the presence of Kobe Bryant, described by broadcasters and others as the NBA’s foremost assassin, the Lakers are said to lack killer instinct. …

TNT’s Charles Barkley, on the undersized Utah Jazz: “Unless they grow between now and the next couple games, it’s going to be a long series.” …

Doesn’t he mean a short series? …

Lamar Odom, at long last, has emerged from hibernation. …

Nobody’s talking about a Freeway World Series this year. …

Noting Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton’s 0.00 earned-run average, Vin Scully told viewers the other night, “Broxton’s ERA is nothing but smoke rings.” …

Roy Halladay’s two shutouts in his first six starts with the Philadelphia Phillies pushed his career total to 17, pulling him even on the all-time list with Babe Ruth. …

Ruth pitched only sporadically after his 24th birthday. …

“With a name like Burke Badenhop,” reader Steve Harvey e-mails to note, “I guess we know why the Florida Marlins pitcher didn’t become an infielder.” …

If a recent Cleveland Browns draft pick were an actor, nobody would believe that Colt McCoy was his real name. …

Clipper Nation ranks No. 7 on an askmen.com list of the nation’s most stubborn sports fans, a.k.a. fans whose loyalty never dips, even when there’s little hope of a title. …

Browns fans rank No. 1. …

Comedian Bill Maher, on a proposal to set the Gulf of Mexico oil slick ablaze: “There’s a danger to doing that. They say to burn that much oil for no reason at all could lead to NASCAR.” …

Overheard at Staples Center: “ LeBron James is a muscular Magic Johnson.” …

All that’s missing are the rings. …

A Sporting News list of top prospects for next year’s NFL draft presumably did not include Andrew Luck, ESPN analyst Todd McShay’s No. 1 prospect, because the Stanford quarterback will be only a third-year sophomore next season. …

Vanity license plate on the trailer that carries USC mascot Traveler to and from the Coliseum: “HORS LMO.” …

Arik Armstead, a high school sophomore and younger brother of USC defensive end Armond Armstead, was offered a football scholarship to UCLA last year before playing his first varsity down, the Sacramento Bee reports. …

Maybe that’s because Armstead, who visited USC and UCLA last weekend, is 6 feet 8 and weighs 275 pounds. …

He’s no longer “No Show Joe,” so maybe this is the year for Joe Thornton and the San Jose Sharks, hoping to bring the Stanley Cup to California for the second time in four seasons. …

Recently hired Citadel basketball Coach Chuck Driesell, son of former Maryland coach Lefty Driesell, has made no mention of turning the military college into the “UCLA of the East.” …

Pete Rose might never reach the Hall of Fame, but baseball’s all-time hit leader has been voted into the Pasadena-based Baseball Reliquary’s Shrine of the Eternals. …

Rose, Casey Stengel and author Roger Angell will be inducted July 18 at the Pasadena Central Library. …

Thirty-five years ago Wednesday, pinch-running specialist Herb Washington was released by the Oakland Athletics after a one-of-a-kind, 105-game major league career in which the former Michigan State sprinter never batted, pitched or fielded. …

Cliff Dapper, the Brooklyn Dodgers backup catcher who was traded to the minor league Atlanta Crackers for announcer Ernie Harwell in 1948, is a Los Angeles Washington High graduate who batted .471 in eight major league games. …

Remarkably, seven of Dapper’s Washington High teammates — Gerald Priddy, Alvin Montgomery, Lou Stringer, Al Lyons, Bryan Stephens, Eddie Malone and Roy Partee — also played in the majors, three as catchers. …

Tiger Woods, competing in the Players Championship this week after missing the cut last week at Quail Hollow, has never missed the cut in consecutive tournaments. …

The late Rory Markas, in a play-by-play voice-over, can be heard throughout “The Yankles,” a baseball-themed comedy- drama premiering Sunday at Laemmle’s Town Center in Encino as part of the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival. …

Tampa Bay Rays Manager Joe Maddon on outfielder Carl Crawford, who was caught stealing four times in his first 11 attempts this season: “It’s just one of those periods. It’s like Kobe Bryant; keep on shooting, man.” …

One of them needs no encouraging.

jerome.crowe@latimes.com

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