As Opposite as Teammates Can Want to Be

Bernie Lincicome of the Chicago Tribune comparing Dennis Rodman and Toni Kukoc of the Chicago Bulls:

“Never have two such opposites played the same position. . . . Rodman is all desire and tumult, making do with limited skill, defying demons, real and imagined, never happier than when exchanging bruises, not only believing he is better than he is, but abiding no other opinion.

“Kukoc is as fragile as a feather, routinely discouraged, readily spooked and easily bullied, yet with immense talent, versatile and distinctive, capable of stunning brilliance with a basketball, allowing himself to be defined by his last mistake.”

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Trivia time: What do Howard Joliff, Rod Hundley, Ray Felix and Bob Leonard have in common?

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Believe it or . . . : Thomas Muster is known as a physical fitness fanatic. Tennis magazine reported that Muster, according to legend, once went out on a five-mile run in the woods near his home in Austria.

“But [he] missed the trail’s turn-off and, Forrest Gump-like, just kept running. By the time he had returned to his home, he realized that he had run close to a marathon.”

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Good timing: Actress Shirley MacLaine, in Entertainment Weekly, on how they got Jack Nicholson for “The Evening Star,” the sequel to “Terms of Endearment”:

“The Lakers happened to be playing in Houston, where we were filming, so we had an edge.”

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Big-man gap: Dave Kindred in the Sporting News writes that Shaquille O’Neal is “the best big man since Wilt Chamberlain in a sport made for big men.”

Overlooked is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who retired after Chamberlain.

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Sure paycheck: From Jay Leno: “Do you know what the world’s steadiest employment is? Being a waiter at Magic Johnson retirement dinners.”

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Maybe Mars: Dave Molinari in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on the Penguins’ Jaromir Jagr and Mario Lemieux: “If there is a better 1-2 combination in any sport, it’s not one played in this corner of the solar system”

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A real trencherman: Ron Borges of the Boston Globe on Cincinnati Bengal defensive lineman Dan Wilkinson, the former Ohio State All-American who has reportedly ballooned to 340 pounds:

“The team wants him to be going through the opponent’s offensive line. He wants to be going through the buffet line.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1929, the Brooklyn Dodgers outslugged the Philadelphia Phillies for a 20-16 victory in the first game of a doubleheader.

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Trivia answer: They were members of the original Los Angeles Lakers in the 1960-61 season.

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And finally: Chicago Cub Manager Jim Riggleman: “If you only score two runs, you’ve got to keep the other club at one or no runs.”

He was obviously a math major.