Dodgers’ Jerry Sands isn’t first to put tiny Catawba College on the map

The Catawba connection continues.…

Jerry Sands’ promotion by the Dodgers has rekindled memories of former Los Angeles Rams receiver Bucky Pope, who also hailed from tiny Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C.…

“The Catawba Claw” also was a phenom, tying for the NFL lead with 10 touchdown receptions and averaging a staggering 31.4 yards a catch as a rookie in 1964 before suffering a career-destroying knee injury in a 1965 exhibition.…

“You’ve got to have two good legs to play in that league,” says Pope, who caught only nine passes after his rookie year. “One and a half isn’t going to get it done.” …

Before Lamar Odom won the award Tuesday, the only Laker who’d finished as high as second in voting for sixth man of the year was Kobe Bryant, runner-up to Danny Manning in 1998.…

Michael Cooper never finished higher than third, but the award wasn’t introduced until his fifth season.…

After what Chris Paul did to them in Game 1, the Lakers had better hope they don’t see Derrick Rose down the road.…

When Pau Gasol plays as he did Sunday, it’s easy to forget that without the Spaniard the Lakers wouldn’t have defeated the Boston Celtics last June.…

It just doesn’t seem right that the NHL playoffs feature three teams from California and only two from Canada.…

ESPN’s Barry Melrose, grinning after hearing Washington Capitals Coach Bruce Boudreau rip Madison Square Garden: “When I was coaching Los Angeles, I coached in a building called the Fabulous Forum. It wasn’t fabulous.” …

T-shirt wisdom: “Real Women Love Playoff Beards.” …

While a looming NBA lockout failed to deter UCLA’s Tyler Honeycutt or USC’s Nikola Vucevic, it apparently swayed surefire lottery picks such as North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes and Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger, who are staying in school.…

Ben Roethlisberger, who says his goal is to win more Super Bowl rings than any other quarterback, still needs two more just to pull even with Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana.…

David Whitley of AOL Fanhouse, questioning Auburn’s plan to build a statue of Cam Newton as part of a salute to its Heisman Trophy winners: “Shouldn’t statues have to pass some sort of test of time? He won the Heisman, what, 45 minutes ago?” …

Ryan Hall finished the Boston Marathon in 2 hours 4 minutes 58 seconds, the fastest marathon ever run by a U.S. runner.…

He finished fourth.…

“I am running [a] 2:04 pace,” the former Big Bear High standout noted afterward, “and I can’t even see the leaders.” …

Bill Burke of Costa Mesa, attempting at age 69 to become the first person to reach the summit of Mt. Everest via the north and south routes during the same season, was greeted by snow and bone-chilling cold upon arriving at Advance Base Camp this week in preparation for his north-side climb.…

His progress can be followed at eightsummits.com.…

You could look it up: Casey Stangel, a high school softball star in Idaho, has committed to Missouri.…

Casey Stengel, no relation, was born in Missouri.…

Leukemia survivor Tae-Leon Butler of Pacific Palisades, 13-year-old daughter of former UCLA basketball player Mitchell Butler, recently recorded two songs in New York and posted the recordings on iTunes in hopes of making a donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which sent her on the trip.…

Clarification: Although Blake Griffin would be the Los Angeles Clippers’ first rookie of the year, Terry Cummings of the San Diego Clippers won the award in 1983.…

The Buffalo Braves produced three rookies of the year: Bob McAdoo, Ernie DiGregorio and Adrian Dantley.…

All later played for the Lakers.…

Twenty-five years ago Wednesday, Michael Jordan scored a playoff-record 63 points in a double-overtime loss to the Boston Celtics, leading Larry Bird to famously refer to the Chicago Bulls star as “God disguised as Michael Jordan.” …

Charles Barkley, dismissing the effects of Gatorade on the success of a Miami Heat pitchman: “I guarantee you if Dwyane Wade drank Pabst Blue Ribbon, he’d still be great.”

jerome.crowe@latimes.com