Link Found Between Apples and Oranges

The U.S. Tennis Assn. has proclaimed May national tennis month as a way to promote the sport.

Two unlikely spokesmen for the promotion are NASCAR’s Jeff Gordon and boxer Roy Jones Jr.

Said Jones: “Like boxing, a round of tennis burns calories, increases agility and improves foot speed ... all with few shots to the head.”

*

Trivia time: Three major league players have won MVP honors at two positions. Who was the first to do it?

*

Whatever works: Ahmad Rashad, in a pregame interview on ABC Thursday night, asked Rasheed Wallace how most people perceive him.

“Mean all the time,” Wallace said. “But, hey, if that’s what keeps the crazy people away, then that’s cool with me.”

*

Feeling was mutual: The San Diego Chargers’ LaDainian Tomlinson, a guest on Fox Sports Net’s “Best Damn Sports Show Period,” was asked about Eli Manning’s not wanting to play for the Chargers.

“We didn’t want to play with him, either,” Tomlinson said.

*

Easy target: Bob Lacey, who died recently, was a frequent contributor to Tom FitzGerald’s “Open Season” column in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Of Pac Bell (now SBC) Park, Lacey said in 2000: “I called Pacific Bell information to find out what time today’s game starts. They said they’d have the team there ‘between 12 and 5.’ ”

Of Pac Bell in 2003, Lacey said: “Where else can you consume $50-$60 worth of beer and still be under the legal limit?”

*

High-priced coach: Pirate outfielder and former Dodger Raul Mondesi returned to the Dominican Republic and will sit out the season after a Dominican civil court ruled he owed former major leaguer Mario Guerrero $640,000 for coaching him.

“What knowledge could Mario Guerrero possibly know that would be worth $640K?” asks Tim Keown of ESPN.com.

*

Is he sure? NASCAR driver Ryan Newman, describing what a crash feels like, told ESPN: “Probably the closest thing to being trapped inside a barn in the middle of a tornado ... not knowing what it is like to be trapped inside a barn in the middle of a tornado.”

*

Looking back: On this date last year, San Antonio ended the Lakers’ three-year championship reign with a 110-82 victory in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals. Tim Duncan had 37 points and 16 rebounds, and Tony Parker had 27 points.

*

Trivia answer: Hank Greenberg of the Detroit Tigers, who was MVP as a first baseman in 1935 and as an outfielder in 1940.

*

And finally: Chicago loved the late Walter Payton. On tonight’s edition of Fox Sports Net’s “Beyond the Glory,” featuring Payton, son Jarrett Payton tells this story:

“I was downtown in the city one night, and this man about 25 came up to me and had tears in his eyes. He took off his shirt and he had a ‘34’ tattooed on his back, Bears’ colors. He looked at me and just said, ‘Thank you,’ and walked away.”

*

Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.