Dubious milestone in Shaq’s reach

As Shaquille O'Neal closes in on a rarefied career milestone -- 5,000 missed free throws -- John Hollinger of ESPN.com tried to put that feat in its proper historical context.

Hollinger noted only one man in NBA history has missed more free throws -- Wilt Chamberlain, with 5,805 -- and that you could assemble an impressive all-time all-star team from players who did not even attempt 5,000 free throws in their careers:

Point guard: Walt Frazier (4,226 attempts).

Shooting guard: Scottie Pippen (4,437).

Small forward: Larry Bird (4,471).

Power forward: Kevin McHale (4,554).

Center: George Mikan (3,924).

Only 68 players in the combined NBA-American Basketball Association history have attempted as many as 5,000 foul shots. Dikembe Mutombo played 17 seasons and fell 51 attempts short.

• MOVING VIOLATION -- The movable couch potato has been ruled illegal outside Cleveland Browns Stadium.

For three seasons, Browns fan Mike Meredith has driven the "Go-Kouch," a combination couch and riding lawn mower, around the stadium parking lot, transporting friends from one tailgate party to another. At a recent game, however, a police officer ticketed Meredith for driving an unregistered vehicle and having expired plates.

On Tuesday, a Cleveland Municipal Court judge found Meredith guilty and sentenced him to 10 hours of community service.

"He upheld the law," Meredith told the Plain Dealer newspaper in Cleveland.

• OF TAXES AND TEXAS -- Hall of Fame quarterback Sammy Baugh, who died Wednesday at age 94, once had this to say about the estimated $300,000 he made in the NFL from 1937 to 1952: "Half went to taxes. The other half went to Texas."

• ALL OF THE ABOVE -- Multiple-choice question from Chris Ferrell of the San Antonio Express-News:

"The Dallas Cowboys have offered evidence over the past few weeks that:

"a) They have a very dysfunctional locker room.

"b) The team seems as likely to win the Super Bowl as miss the playoffs altogether.

"c) Wade Phillips is going to be a heck of a defensive coordinator for some team next season."

• TASTY SCENT -- If People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals gives convicted dog-abuser Michael Vick any cologne for Christmas, it won't be Old Spice.

The London Daily Telegraph reported Burger King is out with a barbecue-enhanced cologne for men described as "the scent of seduction with a hint of flame-broiled meat."

And in a related story, Sports Interactive, makers of a football video game, has come out with "Scent of Success," a fragrance that smells like a locker room. Though marketers wonder why they didn't call it "Brute."

• ONE AND DONE -- Comedy writer Jerry Perisho, on the prospects of below-freezing temperatures when the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings play an outdoor game at Wrigley Field: "Even Ernie Banks would say, 'Let's just play one!' "

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