Sanchez a model quarterback

Every star athlete in New York attracts sensationalized headlines and oversized hype, and new Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez is getting his share before his first NFL game.

Sanchez already is drawing comparisons to a legend. But it's not Joe Namath or Brett Favre. Sanchez, the Jets' top draft pick, is being called the next David Hasselhoff.

Sanchez modeled swimwear for the June issue of GQ, and in one photo he posed shirtless on a beach while playing the part of a lifeguard.

According to a New York Post story, "Sanchez's veteran teammates have been unmercifully giving him the business for his participation in the shoot ... pinning up pictures around the locker room, ribbing him in practice and calling him David Hasselhoff."

Sanchez laughed off the catcalls, saying he has no regrets. "You're going to do a photo shoot with a supermodel. I'm like, 'Are you kidding me?' It's one of those things you've got to do," he said.

Sanchez has completed his first pro pass. The Post reported he is dating Hilary Rhoda, the model who posed with him in a bikini for the GQ spread.

• FINE WHINE -- The NBA hit Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson with a $25,000 fine, and the team was fined an additional $25,000, for Jackson's complaints about officiating in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.

"If it was a $10 fine, it would still bother me," Jackson, who makes $11 million per year, told the Los Angeles Times. "Parking tickets still bother me."

• THE PRICE IS RIGHT -- Jackson's whining might have influenced the officials in Wednesday's Game 5, which the Lakers won, 103-94. Denver Post columnist Mark Kiszla floated that theory.

"The NBA has an integrity problem," Kiszla wrote. "... If the competitors don't trust the truth in the final score, why should we? Did the Nuggets lose to the Lakers, or were they robbed by referees who gave favorable calls to a marquee franchise that pumps up television ratings?

"Does the league want to see superstar Kobe Bryant in the NBA Finals rather than the tattooed bad boys of Denver? In an accusation that goes straight to the heart of the sport's integrity, one member of the Nuggets shook his head in disgust after the game."

A Denver player, not wanting to be identified for fear of retribution from the league, said, "The Lakers paid $50,000 to win that game. They got their money's worth."

Kiszla continued, "Conspiracy theories are generally for losers ... the angry whisper was that Jackson yanked the NBA with his trademark manipulative tactics, and the refs jumped like puppets on a string."

• VETERAN PLAYER -- The Lakers' array of Hollywood fans includes Jack Nicholson (a real cool guy), Tom Cruise (a phony cool guy) and a classic Playboy.

"Hugh Hefner was sitting in the same row as three blonde women, each one taking a turn to kiss him," wrote T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times. "I can only imagine the number of athletic accomplishments he's managed to compile over the years."

COMPILED BY MATT YOUMANS LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL