Sideline Chatter
He does a lot more than just drop the puck

By Dwight Perry
The Seattle Times

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When Dan Sullivan says he got bummed out, he's not kidding.

The East Coast Hockey League suspended Sullivan, a right wing for the Reading (Pa.) Royals, for 12 games for dropping his pants at a game in Wheeling, W.Va., and making "multiple obscene gestures" at fans.

Sullivan didn't suit up for the game and was sitting in the stands because he was a so-called "healthy scratch."

"It was a tight game, and I heard he was probably getting some taunting from the fans," Wheeling Nailers co-owner Rob Brooks told The Associated Press. "But that's in all sports, so it's up to the players to stay responsible."

It's a safe bet that when — if — Sullivan returns from his suspension, he'll be suspendered.

Miami nice

If Shaquille O'Neal could co-exist with Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, he certainly can do the same with longtime nemesis Christian Laettner, his new teammate in Miami.

"It's good to see that enemies can become friends, because I used to hate Christian Laettner," O'Neal told The Miami Herald. "College thing, NBA thing. But now that we're teammates we have to learn to like each other.

"Somewhat."
 
The name game

ESPN the Magazine's "all-World B. Free" college name team:

• Madison Butts, Cal-Davis.

• Calvin Cage, Buffalo.

• Mani Messy, Seton Hall.

• Chamberlain Oguchi, Oregon.

• Obie Trotter, Alabama A&M.

Ice chips

The end of the NHL lockout just might be in the cards.

"ESPN2 has been airing poker tournaments in place of the missing hockey broadcasts," wrote Roger Brown of Cleveland's Plain Dealer. "For the most part, the poker games have been drawing better ratings than the hockey contests did last year."

Talking the talk

• Times reader Tim Swett of Redmond, who's obviously seen enough Seahawks games: "Keyshawn Johnson ought to write the foreword for Matt Hasselbeck's next book: 'Just Catch the Damn Ball.' "

• TNT analyst Steve Kerr, to the Los Angeles Times, on why going up into the stands during his NBA playing days was never a consideration: "Mostly because most fans could beat me up."

• Syndicated columnist Norman Chad, penciling in the Chicago Bulls for four, maybe seven, wins this season: "On the bright side, if the Bulls stay bad enough long enough, they can always draft LeBron James Jr. in 2023."

Making her pitch

Actress Catherine Zeta Jones is reportedly considering buying her own soccer team — the Llanelli AFC Reds of the Welsh Premier League — according to a report by The Mirror of London.

Could there be a more perfect match? The Reds boast a 1-10 record, and her credits include the TV miniseries "Titanic" and "Intolerable Cruelty."

Dwight Perry: 206-464-8250 or dperry@seattletimes.com