Schedule a Session Before the Bulls Finish Off Magic

Ted St. Martin, a 61-year-old retired dairy farmer in Jacksonville, Fla., is confident he can turn Shaquille O’Neal of the Orlando Magic into a 90% free-throw shooter.

O’Neal generally throws bricks from the line, making only 49% of foul shots in the regular season.

St. Martin was recently challenged by a group of teenagers to shoot free throws until he missed. He missed, according to the Associated Press, but only after making 5,221 in a row.

St. Martin charges $100 for one-hour lessons, and he guarantees he can make a 90% shooter out of anyone--even Shaq.

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Trivia time: Who is the only Dodger to hit for the cycle--single, double, triple and home run--in one game at Dodger Stadium?

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The Bonds bandwagon: How good is Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants? His former manager, the Pirates’ Jim Leyland, told Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

“Barry Bonds might be the greatest player of all time to this point. He’s the Muhammad Ali of baseball. The Joe Namath. He talks a lot of stuff, but he backs it up. He’s the best player I’ve ever seen in my life.”

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Smells too: In case you were wondering, Syracuse University is retaining “Otto the Orange” as its mascot.

Chancellor Kenneth A. Shaw refused to adopt a committee recommendation which suggested a wolf as the university mascot.

“The wolf may be more powerful, but he is also more unpleasant,” the chancellor said.

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Closing in: Tony Kornheiser in the Washington Post on Magic Johnson’s third retirement announcement: “[He’s] only two behind [Sugar] Ray Leonard.”

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Distinguished alumni: Mark Camps in the San Francisco Chronicle: “While no one has pitched a no-hitter for the Mets, [Dwight] Gooden became the fourth ex-Met to throw one. The others are Nolan Ryan, Mike Scott and Tom Seaver.”

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High stakes failure: The San Antonio Spurs’ early exit from the NBA playoffs prompted Eddie Sefko of the Houston Chronicle to write:

“Bob Hill remains unproven as a coach. He can’t seem to come up with the right answers when the money is on the table.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1947, the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Boston Braves, 4-3, in a game that produced 22 hits--all singles. The Pirates had 12 hits, the Braves 10.

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Trivia answer: Wes Parker, on May 7, 1970, against the New York Mets.

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And finally: Boston Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens has named his fourth son Kody. The strikeout master has named each boy with a “K,” his others being Kory, Koby and Kacy.