Well, It Beats Talking About the Warriors

From George Shirk of the San Francisco Chronicle, previewing the series between the Lakers and Phoenix Suns:

“For Northern Californians who find pleasure with Laker misfortune, this series is for you. . . . Charles Barkley could sweep the Lakers all by himself. He doesn’t have to, of course. He has plenty of help.”

And, on the Clipper-Houston Rocket series, Shirk wrote: “This should be a snoozer, with Houston winning in a sweep.”

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Think big: Anyone flying over Mesa, Ariz., is bound to get the message. Jim Power, an ardent Sun fan, chose a tractor and plow to spell out “GO SUNS.”

The message takes up about 40 acres, roughly the same size as the Suns’ America West Arena and surrounding parking lots. “I really can’t tell you what makes me do it,” Power said. “I just think about writing the letters big enough so a passing 747 can see it at 30,000 feet, but I really don’t think about anyone really reading them.”

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Trivia time: Who has the highest career shooting percentage in NBA playoff history?

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Smart route: Northwestern Athletic Director Bill Foster, who coached Rutgers when the late Jim Valvano was a player and assistant coach there, remembers returning to campus by bus after winning an NIT game.

“As we got out, we were cheered and hugged, and the guys were being kissed by the cheerleaders,” Foster said. “Jimmy went around the bus and climbed back in so he could come out again.”

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Familiar territory: A recent Morning Briefing item on golfers requesting that their ashes be sprinkled over their favorite golf course when they are deceased prompted this response from reader Stanley Bulmer:

“I had a golfing friend back in Michigan who made the same request of his wife. Everything went well until the day of the flight.

“As his ashes were being dropped, a large gust of wind came up and blew him out of bounds. We all felt Charlie would be comfortable because that’s where he spent most of his time when he was playing the course.”

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Veteran jerk: New York Islander center Ray Ferraro commenting to USA Today on the hit by Washington Capital center Dale Hunter on the Islanders’ Pierre Turgeon, who suffered a separated right shoulder:

“He (Hunter) has been a jerk for the 10 years he has been in the league. And if he plays five more years he’ll still be a jerk.”

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Sorest loser: After losing a tennis match last year to fellow Zambian Musumba Bwayla, Lighton Ndefwayl was quoted in the Village Voice as saying:

“Musumba Bwayla is a stupid man and a hopeless player. He has a huge nose and is cross-eyed. Girls hate him.”

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Trivia answer: Kurt Rambis, .574.

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Quotebook: Heavyweight Tommy Morrison on his June 7 match with George Foreman: “I have an advantage in this fight. I have only one chin to expose.”