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Nude bikers a wheel problem

Annika Sorenstam

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Organizers of a church-sponsored youth charity bicycle tour through Apeldoorn, Netherlands, on June 12 are none too pleased to discover that the World Naked Bike Ride will be rolling through town on the same day.

"Nudity in public is provocative and illegal," a spokesman for the church tour told the ANP news agency, and he's encouraging his 300 riders to call authorities if they catch an eyeful.

We take that to mean he's also rejecting the nudists' offer to turn their other cheek.

The scoops on Annika

Annika Sorenstam has won 51 LPGA tournaments and millions of dollars, but she grudgingly played for a lot less as a kid growing up in Sweden.

"I didn't get serious about the game until I was 16 or 17," Sorenstam told the Chicago Daily Herald. "I played tennis at 5 and started golf when I was about 12. We played, all of us, the whole family. But me and my younger sister, we weren't really that into it."

So how did her parents keep her interested?

"When we made the turn," she said, "we got ice cream."

Chill the umpire

Former big-league umpire Al Clark has been convicted for his role in selling baseballs that memorabilia dealers fraudulently claimed were used in milestone games.
 
The scheme came unraveled, we hear, when collectors questioned the "Don Denkinger, Commissioner" stamped on each ball.

Rim tin tin

This hasn't been an issue since Ted Williams in 1941, but would Lakers coach Phil Jackson consider benching Shaquille O'Neal in the final playoff game if it meant protecting Shaq's .400 free-throw percentage?

Talking the talk

• Steve Schrader of the Detroit Free Press, after Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders had to coax ref-baiting Lakers fan Jack Nicholson back into his courtside seat in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals: "As if Shaq and Kobe weren't enough, now (Pistons coach) Larry Brown has to worry about who can cover Jack, too?"

• White Sox broadcaster Ken Harrelson, to the San Francisco Chronicle, recalling one of Lou Piniella's temper tantrums during his playing days: "One time he struck out and launched his helmet as high up as he could throw it. The ump said, 'Lou, if that helmet comes down, you're outta here.' "

• Greg Cote of the Miami Herald, after Marat Safin mooned the crowd during a French Open match: "Even after dropping his drawers, he still had on more clothes than Serena Williams."

Busy signals

Seahawks Stadium is about to be renamed Qwest Field, which begs the question:

With a phone company as title sponsor, will instant-replay delays be henceforth known as call-waiting?

— Dwight Perry, The Seattle Times