Name puns have gotten Lin-furiating

We don't want to Lin-sult your Lin-telligence or Lin-sinuate you're Lin-capable of Lin-venting your own Lin-triguing words Lin-spired by the Lin-toxicating play of New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin.

But, just in case you're Lin-terested, some Lin-head has Lin-stituted the "Jeremy Lin Word Generator" at the website Linword.com.

Lin-sanity, Lin-deed.

OK, OK. We promise not to use any more Lin-furiating words in this column.

■ CASHING LIN -- As Lin's sudden popularity continues to soar, so does his value. One investor bid $40,000 to win the uniform and warm-ups Lin wore in his first Knicks game -- on Dec. 28 against Golden State -- and one of Lin's former middle school classmates is trying to sell a personalized yearbook message from Lin for $4,800 on eBay.

■ UNFORTUNATE GRAPHIC -- As an Asian-American and former Harvard star, Lin has shattered stereotypes with each impressive performance.

But the MSG Network perpetuated an Asian stereotype during Wednesday's broadcast of New York's 100-85 win over Sacramento, displaying a graphic of Lin's head above a fortune cookie cracked open, bearing the phrase "The Knicks Good Fortune."

Wow. What's next? An "On a Roll" graphic showing Lin riding an egg roll?

While it's rare for an Asian-American to excel in the NBA, it's equally unlikely for a former Harvard student to shine on basketball's biggest stage. Lin is arguably the most talented former Ivy Leaguer in the NBA since former Knicks star Bill Bradley, who starred at Princeton.

A "wicked smaht" kid from Boston hasn't put up numbers like this since Will Hunting solved the math equation at M.I.T.

■ STANLEY CUP HANGOVER -- Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand told Sports Illustrated he wasn't featured in the team's championship DVD because he was too drunk to be interviewed for it.

Three nights after the Bruins won their first Stanley Cup title in 39 years, the team partied into the wee hours of the morning at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut. The next day, when it was Marchand's turn to be interviewed for the DVD, he was excused, he said, because he was still "intoxicated."

"(After the Cup, linemate Tyler Seguin) and I went on a bit of a tear, partying pretty much every night for a while," Marchand, 23, said. "I thought (winning a title) was something that might never happen, so I was trying to take it all in, enjoy it.

"We went a little overboard."

Marchand's tattoo artist also may have consumed a few cocktails before giving Marchand a "Stanley Cup Champions" tattoo last summer.

The artist originally misspelled "Champions," substituting an "a" for the "o."

■ CUBAN LOVES IRISH -- On the subject of interviews for championship DVDs, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban might have missed his had Dallas won the NBA title in March instead of June.

A big fan of the annual St. Patrick's Day parade in Dallas, Cuban recently ponied up $40,000 to save it.

"I figured if I had lost enough brain cells there, everybody else should get that opportunity, too," he said.

COMPILED BY TODD DEWEY
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL