When It Comes to Complaining, She’s Up to Par

Juli Inkster, the LPGA’s newest Hall of Fame member, isn’t happy about the public perception of the differences between women’s golf and the PGA.

“The bottom line is, if we shoot 15 under par, the course is too easy,” she said. “And if we shoot six over par, we’re not good enough.

“But if the men shoot 15 under par, they are playing great golf, and if they shoot six over par, the course is too tough.

“I feel like sometimes we’re in a no-win situation. No one really gives us the credit that I think we deserve.”

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Trivia time: Baseball Hall of Fame slugger Ted Williams belongs to a second Hall of Fame. What is it?

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Are they for real? The Philadelphia Eagles have become Super Bowl contenders, surprising even Philadelphia Daily News columnist Bill Conlin, who wrote after their 23-20 upset win over Washington:

“This team is without a big-time running back. It is a team whose wideouts could be nicknamed ‘the Bad Hands People.’ Yet somehow, 10 different guys caught [Donovan McNabb’s] passes.”

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Small city market: The better-known NBA players from the 1996 draft are Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant and Marcus Camby, but not the Vancouver Grizzlies’ Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

Abdur-Rahim has averaged 20.9 points and 7.9 rebounds since turning professional. Only Iverson has averaged more points, and neither Bryant nor Camby has as many rebounds since all were drafted.

So why is the former California star so little recognized? Because Bryant’s Lakers and Camby’s Knicks each will make 26 national TV appearances in the U.S., while Abdur-Rahim and the Grizzlies will make only one, Dec. 26 against the Phoenix Suns.

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All about money: Juwan Howard has a seven-year, $105-million contract with the Washington Wizards. The fans have been booing him.

“A lot of fans will not have sympathy for a guy who is making the kind of money I’m making,” he said. “But too many people focus on the money, and I hate that.”

Steve Campbell of the Albany (N.Y.) Times-Union, comments, “Howard plays with all the outward passion of a wax-museum figure.”

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Game night: Following Bobby Knight as Indiana basketball coach would make anyone nervous, and Mike Davis, the replacement, is no different.

“You could feel the tension in the locker room,” Davis said after his first game. “I didn’t want to let the team know I was nervous. It’s like a macho thing.”

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One woman’s view: LPGA Hall of Famer Louise Suggs has her own ideas of what makes Tiger Woods so good.

“He’s built like Li’l Abner, with broad shoulders and a slender waist,” she said.

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Not through yet: Tiger’s father, Earl, says, “I’m just waiting for him to mature physically. Maybe next year he’ll be full grown.”

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For dog fanciers: In case you haven’t noticed, the American Basketball Assn. includes the Detroit Dogs, Tampa Bay Thunderdawgs, Memphis Houn’Dogs and Jacksonville Jackals.

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Trivia answer: The International Game Fish Assn. Hall of Fame in Dania Beach, Fla.

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And finally: San Antonio guard Derek Anderson, who played for the Clippers last season, says he can’t wait for Jan. 29, the night the Spurs meet the Clippers at Staples Center.

“That game has a big red dot on it,” Anderson said. “I don’t talk trash, but they will get a couple of stare-downs.”