NBA Lockout a Big Mistake, Says a Big Fan

Wilt Chamberlain, a 7-foot-1 former NBA center, has never been one to mince words, especially about his beloved basketball. This is his latest warning to the game regarding the lockout and its possible extension into the season:

“Baseball [with its 1994-95 strike] should have taught all these leagues a lesson, but apparently it hasn’t. I hope I don’t reflect the entire population of basketball fans, because if I do, the league is in big trouble. I have no patience for this.”

The NBA went through lockouts in 1995 and briefly in 1996, but both were called in the off-season and the league has never lost a regular-season game to labor strife.

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Trivia time: In what year did the PGA change from match play to stroke play, and who won the first year of stroke play?

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Slim pickings: Ted Turner agreed to pledge $1 to the Imus Ranch for every Goodwill Games ticket that was sold.

“From what I saw, he can stop by the studio and say, ‘Don, I want to make my donation, but do you have change for a 10?’ ” wrote a reader to the New York Daily News.

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Southpaw alert: Today is International Left-Handers Day.

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Who needs money? Jonathan Edwards, world-record holder in the triple jump, was in line to win $1 million if he continued an unbeaten streak. But he lost that opportunity when he fouled on all three of his attempts in a meet. He said he was relieved.

“I had become a little worried that people viewed me as someone who was chasing money and that upset me, because of the teaching that the love of money is the root of evil,” the British jumper said.

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Looking back: On this day in 1977, Lanny Wadkins beat Gene Littler on the third playoff hole at Pebble Beach to win the PGA championship.

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Powder power: Even though the St. Louis Cardinals are on record as opposing the controversial dietary supplement called creatine, slugger Mark McGwire swears by it and continues to use it.

“Every upper-deck launch is a sales boost for creatine,” noted Houston Chronicle writer Alan Truex.

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More McGwire: Former St. Louis manager Whitey Herzog says of the Cardinal home run hitter, “He may be the strongest person I’ve ever seen. He’s got me starting to take creatine.”

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Think big: Don’t sell Corey Dillon short.

He rushed for 1,129 yards for the Cincinnati Bengals last season, and had an NFL rookie single-game record of 246 yards against the Tennessee Oilers. Asked if he expected another 1,000-yard season, Dillon said:

“A thousand? I’m thinking 2,000.” Then he paused and added, “That’s a miscalculation. Make it 2,500, so if I fall short, I’m still all right.”

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Trivia answer: Dow Finsterwald won the first stroke-play championship in 1958.

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And finally: Chester McGlockton and Leslie O’Neal, defensive linemen signed by the Kansas City Chiefs in the off-season, each wore No. 91 for his previous team. And each wanted No. 91 with the Chiefs. McGlockton deferred to O’Neal, taking No. 75. That was the number worn by McGlockton’s friend and former Raider teammate, Howie Long.