Remember, NBA Still Stands for No Biting Allowed

Phoenix Sun Coach Danny Ainge, ridiculing Karl Malone after the Utah Jazz player’s elbow left Sun center Joe Kleine with a cut that required 30 stitches and minor plastic surgery:

“You never know which [Karl Malone] is doing the talking, anyway. Is it the one who says he’s never playing in Utah again?

“Or the one who is crying at a podium after renegotiating his contract--for the fifth time. Or is it the one who refers to himself in the third person? You might as well call him Sybil.”

Malone responded in the Salt Lake Tribune: “At least I didn’t bite anybody --like him.” He was referring to a well-publicized incident during Ainge’s playing career when he bit Atlanta center Tree Rollins during a Celtic-Hawk game.

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Trivia time: What is the NBA record for most points scored in the fourth quarter of a playoff game?

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A prophet? Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel, perhaps still bitter that Shaquille O’Neal left the Magic to play for the Lakers, wrote: “Leaving Orlando will prove to be the worst mistake of Shaq’s career.”

Not if salary means anything, Brian.

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Tuned out: Peter Vecsey in the New York Post: “What do [Kurt] Rambis’ pep talks and Shaq’s albums have in common? Nobody listens to either.”

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Slumber time: Fran Blinebury of the Houston Chronicle commenting on the Rockets’ scoring drought in the fourth quarter of a 91-78 loss to the Jazz on Friday night:

“Wars could have ended. The Titanic could have been built from scratch, hit the iceberg and sank all the way to the ocean floor while the Rockets themselves were once more hitting bottom.”

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Forget it: Tampa Bay’s Jose Canseco, who is tied for the major league lead with 10 home runs, was asked if he had a shot at Mark McGwire’s record of 70 in a season.

“No way,” Canseco said. “Only a robot like McGwire can do that. I don’t think people understand how difficult it was to do what he did.”

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Hello and goodbye: Bill Walsh, sizing up the San Francisco 49ers’ lack of rookie talent in his early days as coach:

“We have a lot of players in their first year. Some of them are also in their last year.”

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Nothing new: Blackie Sherrod in the Dallas Morning News: “So stuntman Dennis Rodman went to Vegas, gambled, got potted and woke up married. Ain’t much for originality.”

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Trivia answer: 51, by the Lakers against Detroit on March 31, 1962.

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And finally: Under a law approved by the Mexico City assembly, playing soccer on the street without neighbors’ approval is punishable by a fine of up to $111 and six to 36 hours in jail, the newspaper Reforma reported Friday.

Minors committing their first soccer-related offense would be spared punishment, but a second offense could lead to the penalties being applied to their parents or guardians.

Street soccer is a tradition in Mexico, but it often irks residents whose windows are sometimes broken.