There Are No Smooth Rides for This Ford

Since Chris Ford took over as interim coach of the Philadelphia 76ers last month, he has raised more than a few eyebrows with how he has handled Allen Iverson.

Ford already has fined the high-scoring guard twice and benched him once.

After sitting for the first 7:21 of the 76ers’ loss at Denver on Feb. 17, Iverson criticized Ford, saying he was “upset about being here eight years, and someone being here for one game and benching me.”

If Iverson thought he could intimidate his new coach by being difficult, he must have forgotten that Ford coached the Clippers’ capricious 7-foot-3 center Keith Closs Jr.

Ford, who fined and suspended Closs numerous times in less than two seasons, had several heated encounters with the backup center, including one in front of a group of reporters at Staples Center.

After refusing to participate in a weight-training workout, Closs walked away and cursed at Ford while the coach tried to reason with him.

Neither Ford nor the Clippers saw or heard from Closs for the next two days and when he returned to the team nearly a week later, he had a new tattoo on his back that featured a globe and a vulgarity.

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Trivia time: Who is the last player to win the NBA scoring title and not make the playoffs?

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More Closs: After being released by the Clippers in 2000, Closs spent a short time playing overseas and for the Harlem Globetrotters before signing with the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs of the U.S. Basketball League in 2001.

Last season, Closs, who played at Central Connecticut State and still owns a couple of NCAA Division I shot-blocking records, was a reserve center for the ValleyDawgs, backing up Olden Polynice.

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Better than Milwaukee: In a recent study performed by the SportsBusiness Journal on the top sports cities in the U.S., Los Angeles failed to finish in the top 15. Denver was ranked No. 1, followed by San Francisco/Oakland, New York, Seattle and Phoenix.

The report analyzed 41 markets with at least one team in Major League Baseball, the NFL, NBA or NHL from the point of view of the financial beneficiaries -- the owners of the franchises and events in those markets.

Los Angeles finished 16th, behind such cities as Cleveland, Buffalo and Cincinnati but ahead of 17th-place Milwaukee.

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Trivia answer: Bernard King of the New York Knicks, who averaged 32.9 points in 1984-85. The Knicks finished last in the Atlantic Division with a 24-58 record.

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And finally: Kobe Bryant’s father, Joe, is the coach of the Las Vegas Rattlers of the American Basketball Assn., but on Tuesday night, he was forced to put on a uniform because of his team’s injuries.

In a 142-122 loss to the Long Beach Jam, Bryant scored 18 points while wearing No. 8, his son’s number with the Lakers.

Before the game, the elder Bryant spoke with his son.

“He said I had to get 30 [points] when I called,” said the 49-year-old Bryant, who missed 16 of 23 shots.

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Times wire services contributed to this report.