Writer Has the Answer to Bulls’ Struggles

Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun-Times has some advice for Chicago Bull executive Jerry Krause:

“Krause, we now know, has flopped. His rebuilding plan isn’t on a clock as much as a respirator, trying to keep pro basketball in Chicago from flat-lining and fading away ...

“So let me suggest an option for the Round Mound of Secaucus that would make the Bulls a happening and turn them into an instant playoff team. His name is Allen Iverson, and if the smoke out of Philadelphia isn’t exhaust from a cheesesteak grill, he’ll soon be available.”

In other words, get him!

Trivia time: Who holds the NBA single-game playoff record for free throws without a miss?

He’s seen it all: Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly said he’s not afraid of death, explaining that one of his first assignments with SI was a profile on Marge Schott, the crusty former owner of the Cincinnati Reds:

“We were set to shoot some pictures at her house and she comes out wearing a lime-green teddy,” Reilly said. “I’ve seen Marge Schott in a lime-green teddy, so I’m not afraid to die.”

College educated: In his book, “Life’s a Joe: Tales of a College Basketball Vagabond,” Jack Fertig, Fresno State’s director of basketball operations, recalls going to the Great Alaska Shootout as an assistant coach at Tennessee.

The teams went to a gift shop in Anchorage, and one of the players asked the clerk, “Do you take American money?”

Deadline devastation: “Who wants to be a Cardinal beat writer?” asks Dave van Dyck of Foxsports.com. “I mean, not even spell check will help when Jason Simontacchi starts, Gene Stechschulte relieves, and Jason Isringhausen closes.”

Moon man: Dwight Perry in the Seattle Times: “Seems like a good time for the Baltimore Orioles to see what little-used catcher Fernando Lunar can do in a night game.”

He’s a card: American Express unveiled Tiger Woods’ image on a new credit card in Canada this week. Its annual fee ($62) is nearly twice as much as a regular card in Canada ($34), but it offers several golf-related benefits.

“I can’t promise it will knock any strokes off your game, but I’m sure you’ll enjoy the game more if you’ve got one,” Woods said in a statement.

Is it over already? Rudy Martzke in USA Today: “Candor award: NBC’s Tom Tolbert: ‘San Antonio doesn’t have a chance against the Lakers anyway. But without David Robinson, forget it.’”

Sweet deal: NBA star Tracy McGrady’s new contract with Adidas pays him royalties from all shoes and sports clothing sold under his name for the rest of his life.

Trivia answer: Karl Malone of Utah, 18, against the Lakers on May 10, 1997.

And finally: Jeff Gordon in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “With baseball managers getting canned at a mind-boggling rate, high-strung Philadelphia Phillies’ Manager Larry Bowa is feeling the walls closing in ... and it seems his players have tuned him out.

“‘We got a manager and coaches not getting any sleep,’ Bowa recently moped. ‘And we’ve got players getting 12 hours a night.’”