He Figures New Jordan Is Best Left Unexplored

Rick Telander of the Chicago Sun-Times commenting on Michael Jordan: “When he ‘retired’ from the NBA after hitting that remarkable shot against the Utah Jazz in 1998, Jordan might have been walking away with the greatest jock props ever.

“He was the best. Getting out as the best ... Hero, icon, enemy-slayer, sweetheart to children, man with the perfect smile, perfect life, perfect everything ...

“Then, he came back to the hardwood with the Washington Wizards and we learned so much more about him. His word means little. He is not interested in grand exits.... His love of the game is that of a child ... His selfishness is grand. His desire for money is immense. His social skills are those of a cobra with a flock of birds ...

“No matter what, it truly seems to me that most of us don’t want to know the bad stuff about Jordan. I don’t particularly.”

Trivia time: Who was the first NBA player to score 2,000 points or more in the regular season?

Zzzzz: Bernie Lincicome in the Rocky Mountain News: “I would like to see instant replay take less time than gardening.”

Oh, no! Scott Ostler in the San Francisco Chronicle: “Nolan Richardson III resigns as Tennessee State basketball coach after bringing a .38 caliber handgun to the gym following a dispute with an assistant.

“Tough spot for Tennessee State. They hate to lose a coach of that caliber.”

More Ostler: “George Steinbrenner is named the most powerful man in sports by the Sporting News. I suspect steroids.”

Gruden’s trail: Bud Geracie in the San Jose Mercury News: “Jon Gruden is the first coach to win back-to-back division titles with different teams. But then, not many coaches have left their team after winning a division championship.”

* “A handsome wall clock is among the inducements being offered to Baltimore Oriole season-ticket holders, so they’ll know exactly how much time they wasted watching that club.”

What’s next? Jim Armstrong in the Denver Post: “Tonya Harding, already on probation, popped for open brewskis and an 0.16 blood-alcohol level while rolling down the road in a pickup. Is she a country-music song waiting to happen, or what?”

Say what? Mike Lupica in the New York Daily News: “I am always fascinated about how much time writers from out of town spend worrying about the New York media, even though we never spend five minutes worrying about them.”

FYI: The largest crowd to see an NBA regular-season game is 61,046, Chicago playing Atlanta in the Georgia Dome on March 27, 1998.

Trivia answer: Detroit’s George Yardley, 2,001 in the 1957-58 season.

And finally: Anna Kournikova has been the subject of much speculation and the target of probing photographers during her matches this week in Australia as everyone clamors to get the first look at the Russian tennis star’s new tattoo.

Kournikova hasn’t revealed her new body art and has concealed the tattoo on her lower back with tape during matches, practices and even her opener in the Australian Open.

-- Mal Florence