Portland Hopes Trail Bypasses L.A.

Steve Brandon of the Portland Oregonian, commenting on the Lakers’ 119-91 rout of the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday:

“The best news for the Blazers is that they are not on the same side of the bracket as the Lakers. The Blazers will not want to see the Lakers--and particularly forward Glen Rice, who scored a season-high 40 points--until next season. If then.”

Trail Blazer Coach Mike Dunleavy concurs: “They would be the last team we’d want to play.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the NBA playoff record for assists in a game?

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Bowl flap: The NCAA last week approved the bid of Mobile, Ala., to host a bowl game this December, and organizers decided to call it the Mobile Alabama Bowl.

The Mobile Register invited readers to comment, and of 275 who phoned in, not one approved of the name.

Toilet Bowl got a couple of votes.

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Hot rivalry: Miami Heat Coach Pat Riley on the rivalry with the New York Knicks: “This series is beyond everyone’s control. This is preordained. This is the way it has to be. This is something the gods want to take care of.”

Wonder what the betting line is on Mt. Olympus?

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Money matters: Philadelphia Flyer Coach Roger Neilson, after the NHL fined him $25,000 for ripping referee Terry Gregson:

“Now we’ll have to raise the registration fee for our hockey camps.”

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Phoning it in: Cecil Mamiit, who turned pro after winning the NCAA singles title as a USC freshman in 1996, stopped play in a tennis match against Sebastien Grosjean of France this week in Delray Beach, Fla., when he heard a cell phone ringing.

He walked over, reached into his tennis bag and clicked off the phone--he found out later that the call was made by David Caldwell, a fellow ATP player--before sheepishly pulling his shirt over his head in embarrassment.

Said the public address announcer, tongue in cheek: “As a courtesy to the fans, will the players keep their cell phones off during the match?”

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Wise woman: Said Coach Larry Brown of the Philadelphia 76ers, after team President Pat Croce shaved his head: “I told my wife that I thought about doing that a while back. And she said Pat doing it is enough.”

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Extremely early: Jeff Schultz in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “With the NHL’s decision to retire [Wayne] Gretzky’s No. 99 league wide, the Thrashers--Atlanta’s expansion team, which begins play next season--pulled off this rarity: retiring a number before they ever assigned one.”

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Trivia answer: The Lakers’ Magic Johnson, with 24 against the Phoenix Suns on May 15, 1984, and equaled by John Stockton of the Utah Jazz against the Lakers on May 17, 1988.

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And finally: Texas Ranger pitcher Mike Morgan was asked if he was inspired to beat the Minnesota Twins, his former team.

“No,” said the well-traveled Morgan. “Every team I throw against is my ex-team.”