And He Knows a Little About Not Winning

Don Nelson, coach and general manager of the Dallas Mavericks, doubts the Chicago Bulls will win a sixth NBA title.

“They can’t win if Michael [Jordan] doesn’t score and score big,” Nelson said. “He’s got to be worn down after his rough season, mentally and physically, because it’s been all him and he is, after all, getting old.

“If we can beat them [104-97 on March 12], anybody can.”

Speaking of Nelson, Peter May of the Boston Globe said, “He does for NBA franchises what Alec Guinness did for ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai.’ ”

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Trivia time: What is the Laker record for points scored in a playoff game?

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Boo! When the new Tampa Bay baseball team stayed at Chicago’s Palmer House recently for its series with the White Sox, pitcher Tony Saunders heard teammate and former White Sox outfielder Dave Martinez telling other players the hotel might be haunted.

Saunders bought it. He slept with the door open and the TV on. “I don’t mess with that kind of stuff,” Saunders said.

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Just wondering: A reader, writing to the San Francisco Chronicle on the mysterious deaths of 39 pigeons in the Bay Area: “Now what about the 25 dead bats the Giants are swinging?”

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Oversight: Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune, on Green Bay Packer defensive end Reggie White changing his mind about retiring:

“Guess he forgot to slur Gypsies, Mongols, tree-huggers and midgets.”

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More White: Bob Ryan in the Boston Globe: “I was hoping that when God told [White] to come back for one more year, he also reminded him not to accept any more public speaking invitations that don’t end in him saying ‘Hallelujah!’ ”

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Brrr! Blackie Sherrod in the Dallas Morning News: “On nights before games, Penn State RB Curtis Enis [first-round draft choice of the Chicago Bears] fills a whirlpool with ice water and sits submerged for an hour, to develop mental toughness [Maybe it’s his head he should soak].”

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Close shave: The Indiana Pacers and the Charlotte Hornets shaved their heads as a show of solidarity for the NBA playoffs.

With a roster loaded with veterans, there weren’t many clippings to clean up when the Pacers did the job.

And the final result?

“There are a lot of ugly heads out there,” 32-year-old Reggie Miller said.

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Add Pacers: Miller feels his experienced team has an advantage.

“We have a veteran club that understands what it takes to advance,” he said. “Father Time is catching up to a lot of guys in that locker room.”

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Outer space: Florida Marlin Coach Rich Donnelly, on Mark McGwire: “He hit a popup against us one day that went so high, all nine guys on our team called for it.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1997, Rex Chapman of the Phoenix Suns set an NBA playoff record by making nine three-point field goals in a game against Seattle.

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Trivia answer: 153 against Denver on May 22, 1985.

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And finally: Isaiah Rider, commenting on Shaquille O’Neal in the Portland Oregonian:

“Shaq plays a style that’s very aggressive, almost a street style. He’s so big, he slams into people and looks at you real mean after he dunks, and Sabas [Trail Blazer center Arvydas Sabonis] might not be used to that.”