Maybe This Marks Birth of a Humble Sir Charles

Charles Barkley says he has no trouble acknowledging that Michael Jordan was a better player than he was.

“Anybody who played against him should feel the same way because he was better than all of them too,” Barkley told Bob Verdi in GolfWorld magazine. “We just played against the greatest ever.

“We were born too close to when Michael was born, and I ain’t got no control over that.”

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Trivia time: What is the longest losing streak for a major league team since 1900?

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Joys of nepotism: John McGrath of the Tacoma (Wash.) News Tribune on the Red Sox signing Ted Williams’ 33-year-old son, John Henry Williams, who has never played pro ball: “Before I became a father, I used to howl over the story of how Harry Truman threatened to punch out the Washington Post theater critic who savagely panned his daughter’s nightclub-singing debut.

“Not anymore.

“We may be a nation dedicated to the principle of a free press, but when your little girl is up on the lighted stage making noises that would scare the bark out of Marge Schott’s dog, all you hear is Ella Fitzgerald.”

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Bashing Barry: David Whitley in the Orlando Sentinel: “According to media reports, which are never wrong, Barry Bonds’ hat size grew by two sizes last year.

“Medical experts say that kind of skull expansion for a 37-year-old man can only happen if he is taking steroids, or he’s paid $18 million and allowed exclusive use of three lockers, a lounge chair, a television and a personal trainer and French chef in the clubhouse.”

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More Whitley: “As disappointing as the U.S. loss to Germany in the World Cup was, the worst part is we no longer have an excuse to get the name of FIFA President Sepp Blatter in the paper.”

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Tradition lapse: After Brazil’s Roberto Carlos scored in the World Cup on a direct free kick with five Chinese defenders lined up to block the shot, former England national coach Terry Venables said on the BBC broadcast: “You would think that the Chinese would build a better wall than that.”

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Say what? Mike Bianchi in the Orlando Sentinel: “Before the union agrees to drug testing, Donald Fehr says he needs ‘tangible proof’ of steroid use. What does he want--Barry Bonds batting with a syringe sticking out of his arm and a voice deeper than Lou Rawls?”

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Golf reprieve: Comedy writer Alex Kaseberg in the San Francisco Chronicle: “Phil Mickelson won the Greater Hartford Open, or as Phil calls it, the ‘Thank Goodness Tiger Didn’t Play Open.’ ”

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A real sleeper (hold): The Pittsburgh Panthers recently received a commitment from defensive tackle Afa Anoai, a senior-to-be at Bethlehem (Pa.) Freedom High. His cousin is professional wrestler and actor Dwayne Johnson, better known as “The Rock.”

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Trivia answer: Twenty-three games by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1961.

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And finally: Tim Tucker in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “So the BCS, in its annual tinkering, has removed the margin-of-victory component from the computer rankings.

“But that doesn’t mean college football coaches won’t feel compelled to run up the score, because the human voters in the media and coaches’ poll will continue to be influenced by big scores.”