The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
And now, this word from our sponsors...
With the NBA giving its OK to putting sponsors’ patches on jerseys in 2017-18, some teams and players look like cross-marketing naturals for ads for TV shows, such as:
■ Los Angeles Lakers: “Once Upon A Time”
■ Golden State Warriors: “Baskets”
■ Steph Curry: “Supernatural”
■ Philadelphia 76ers: “The Biggest Loser”
Bad news for DeMarcus Cousins, though: Syfy just canceled “Defiance.”
Sports quiz
Some 100,189 fans packed Ohio Stadium last week because:
A) They wanted to see the Buckeyes’ spring football game.
B) They’d heard rumors there’d be a Jim Harbaugh dunk tank.
Headlines
■ SportsPickle.com: “Masters ratings hit all-time high after hologram Tiger Woods takes the lead.”
■ SportsPickle.com: “Steph Curry to just shoot full-court shots to limit running on his injured ankle.”
Shots galore
The NHL record for shots in a game is 19, by the Bruins’ Ray Bourque in 1991.
Veteran puckheads predict that’s one mark that will never be broken — unless, of course, Kobe Bryant decides to take up hockey.
Hot cornering
If corpulent Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval were a car, he’d be in the shop getting:
A) heavier suspension springs B) a gas-tank reduction C) a belt replaced
Punching in
New York ended its holdout last week, becoming the final state to legalize MMA fights.
The first bout will be at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 12 or the next time someone wears a Red Sox jersey into Yankee Stadium — whichever comes first.
Talko time
■ Jim Barach of WCHS-TV in Charleston, W.Va., after fans purchased a record $1.2 million in Kobe Bryant merchandise during his final NBA game: “Which at Staples Center prices works out to three shirts and a hat.”
■ Comic Torben Rolfsen ,on the cruelty of sports: “One hour Jordan Spieth is the new Tiger Woods; the next he’s Jean van de Velde.”
On spin cycle
Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera and France’s Televisions Stade 2, using thermal cameras, claimed that seven professional cyclists used hidden motors during two races in Italy last month.
Coincidence? Final instructions at this year’s Tour de France are “Gentlemen, don’t start your engines.”
Talking the talk
Mississippi State football coach Dan Mullen, 43, to USA Today, on why he chose the Boston Marathon to cross off his bucket list this year: “The Boston Marathon made more sense than skydiving as I’ve gotten older.”