Deep thoughts, cheap shots & bon mots ...

鉔 Easy solution to the NFL’s problem with obtaining hotel surveillance videos: Hire the TMZ person who gets those videos as easily as folks once checked out movies at Blockbuster.

鉔 What I’d like to see is surveillance videos of NFL operatives trying to obtain those hotel surveillance videos.

鉔 Man, Kevin Durant picks some strange battles. The latest: Telling Bleacher Report that the atmosphere around LeBron James is “toxic” because of the heavy media attention on him, which results in “bulls— fluff ” churned out by “fanboys.” I was going to say that at least Durant was being honest, and that he is one of the best athletes I’ve dealt with when it comes to speaking from the heart, but that would just make me a fanboy churning out toxic fluff.

鉔 Toxic Fluff, by the way, is the new name for my band.

鉔 One super easy way to help Camp Fire victims: Send a buck or 10 to the gofundme account started by Bay Area Associated Press sportswriter Janie McCauley. The fund, seeded by $400 of Janie’s moolah, will provide two college scholarships for Paradise High School fire victims who plan to study journalism or communications. Visit gofundme.com and search Janie McCauley.

鉔 NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman put a lovely poetic spin on the league’s expansion to Seattle. “It brings our geographical footprint into greater equilibrium.” That’s the most melodic turn of phrase in hockey since, “Put the biscuit in the basket.”

鉔 LaMelo Ball, tearing it up in high school basketball, apparently has the taunting chops that his businesslike older brother Lonzo lacks. But alas, LaMelo is afflicted with the same disease as Lonzo: funky jumper. When LaMelo winds up for his J he looks like he’s trying to charm a cobra. Nice work, Pop!

鉔 Reader Mike Silvers says the NBA could enhance the flow of the game by having refs call fouls on moving screens and hip-check screens. Good point. But you know what they call illegal screens in the NBA? Screens. I believe the last legal screen in the NBA was set by Bill Walton.

鉔 Gift suggestion for a fan: “Falling in Love with Baseball: A collection of e-mails and memories,” by Bay Area sportswriter Chris Mavraedis. Straight from the heart. Not easy to write a book while dealing with ALS, but Mavo pulled it off. Check it out at mavobooks.com.

鉔 Great move by Cal, locking up football coach Justin Wilcox with a contract extension. But what’s with the five years? That’s a long commitment in a sport that changes so quickly. Not as crazy as the six-year contracts for Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch ,or Jon Gruden’s Decade Bonanza Package, but still.

鉔 The Undefeated points out that for the first time in the 84-year history of the Heisman Trophy, the top three votegetters are quarterbacks of color. That’s a big deal if you remember when that was impossible.

鉔 NFL experts say the quarterback run-pass option is trending. Defenses are getting crossed up by guys like Patrick Mahomes and Ravens’ fill-in Lamar Jackson making plays with their feet. Colin Kaepernick, like my wardrobe, might be coming back into style.