But at least Nets didn't use any minutes

Looks like we have some sort of disconnect here.

The New Jersey Nets announced in late April that T-Mobile would be their partner for the upcoming NBA playoffs, the Bergen Record reported. Just one problem: The Nets didn't make the playoffs.

Guess they'd already phoned it in.

Today's sports quiz

The ultimate example of "total disregard for the bottom line" would be:

a) The Giants giving a pitcher with four straight years of double-digit losses a $126 million contract.

b) The Sonics abandoning the nation's 14th-largest media market so they can move to the 45th-largest.

c) John Daly bending over to pick up a golf ball.

Bowling Green Department

In case you missed it last week, college football has added yet another pair of bowl games — the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Bowl, for teams with a lot of fifth-year seniors, and the Congressional Bowl in Washington, D.C., not to be confused with the Impeach Bowl.

Just wondering

Added incentive for the Knicks to select O.J. Mayo with the No. 5 pick in the draft: New Yorkers get to celebrate Cinco de Mayo all over again!

He was sure sorry

Roger Clemens offered up a non-apology apology Monday, saying he was sure sorry for all those things he did, whatever they were.

Clemens said he would have no further comment, nor would his speechwriter, Jason Giambi.

He ain't heavy, not

That heartwarming story about two Central Washington softball players carrying an injured opponent around the bases to complete her home-run trot has created quite a stir.

"You know, I wouldn't be surprised if the major leagues picked up on that and instituted, uh, designated carriers," wrote Dan Daly of the Washington Times. "Heck, if they'd had those a decade ago, Cecil Fielder might still be playing."

Talking the talk

• Suns center Shaquille O'Neal, to The Arizona Republic, on how he got his point across to Argentine Fabricio Oberto, his Spurs counterpart, after Oberto committed a hard foul: "I told him something in this language ... it's called vulgar ebonics."

• Tony Augusty of The Detroit News, on the YouTube video purporting to show history's first wheelchair back flip: "I always thought the first to do it was O.J. Simpson in 'The Naked Gun.' "

• Jeff Schultz of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, on college football's dinosaur of a playoff system: "Millions of years from now, scientists will debate whether the BCS ran out of food, was hit by a meteor, or just fell into a tar pit."

• Headline at Ananova.com, on Chicagoan Bill Bramanti, 67, commissioning himself a coffin that looks like a giant Pabst Blue Ribbon can: "From beer to eternity."

Singing a few rounds

The Pussycat Dolls' Nicole Scherzinger belted out the "Star-Spangled Banner" before Saturday night's Oscar De La Hoya-Steve Forbes bout, and timekeepers clocked it at 2 minutes, 18 seconds.

Hey, don't laugh — a lot of fights don't even go that long.

Sideline Chatter appears Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Dwight Perry: 206-464-8250 or dperry@seattletimes.com