It Would’ve Helped if He’d Been Taller Too

Tito Divac heard the news and laughed. His cousin Vlade had signed a contract with the Lakers, and the way Tito found out was by reading The Times’ website.

“Out With the Old, in With the Older,” Tito told Times reporter Diane Pucin on Thursday. “I loved that headline.”

Tito is the son of Budimir Divac, whose brother, Mileko, is Vlade’s father. Both raised sports-loving sons. Tito is covering the Tour de France for Slovenia’s largest newspaper, Delo. He said he and Vlade used to play basketball in Yugoslavia.

“Only I was stupid,” Tito said. “I quit and got heavy. Vlade kept playing and he makes millions. I’m a poor journalist.”

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More Divac: For Laker fans who think they might miss Shaquille O’Neal, Tito has some advice:

“Get over it,” he said. “You know what’s so good about Vlade? Vlade gets along with everybody. Vlade’s the best teammate. He got along with Chris Webber, he will get along with Kobe Bryant.

“There won’t be drama. Vlade will just play basketball and get Kobe the ball.”

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Trivia time: Who was the first native-born Hawaiian drafted by Major League Soccer?

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Looking back: On this date in 1960, Betsy Rawls won the U.S. Women’s Open golf title for an unprecedented fourth time.

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Stage fright: Texas Ranger left-hander Kenny Rogers flopped mightily when he pitched on the biggest stage of all, in the South Bronx for the New York Yankees.

Since the Rangers now lead the American League West, Howard Cole, editor of BaseballSavvy.com, has this suggestion: “It’s just about time for Kenny Rogers to request a trade away from a contender.”

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Scent of victory: Jim Armstrong, in his AOL.com sports column: “You can have the Boys of BALCO, Gary Sheffield and Jason Giambi. Make mine Albert Pujols and Scott Rolen. The Cardinals get style points too, for the coolest logo in sports.

“Not that I’m telling you to rush out and watch one of their games. Have you ever sat in Busch Stadium in July?

“It’s so humid, you can smell the people in the upper deck.”

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Replacing Phil: FoxSports.com’s Randy Hill has his own guess as to why Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski passed on the Lakers: “As a married man coaching the Lakers, Krzyzewski wasn’t sure if he was prepared to date Jeanie Buss.”

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Looking back II: On this date in 1995, Spain’s Miguel Indurain won a record fifth consecutive Tour de France, and joined Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault as five-time winners.

Lance Armstrong has won the last five Tours, and is on the verge of a record sixth in a row.

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Trivia answer: San Jose Earthquake forward Brian Ching, who is from Haleiwa on Oahu and was initially drafted by the Galaxy.

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And finally: Bret Lewis of radio station KFWB, on Barry Bonds’ sitting out Monday night’s game after undergoing a root canal, “Now he can relate to the reporters who have to interview him.”