Take Russell, Wilt, Magic, add Leslie to the list

Basketball star Lisa Leslie might not be retiring just yet, not until after this upcoming Los Angeles Sparks season, but her announcement was time for those around her to reflect and make historical comparisons.

"I get a chance to see three of the best retire," Sparks coach Michael Cooper said. "And be alongside of them, to play with them, and to coach: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and now Lisa Leslie."

His nickname for her was "Smooth."

"I've always said this young lady is like three people," he said. "She's like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell, all rolled up in one. That's how good she is.

"And her ballhandling skills were better than all three of those players."

• HOOPS MUSINGS -- From TNT's Lakers-Celtics game on Thursday, the most-watched regular-season game on TNT since 1996 (when Magic had just come out of retirement and was facing Michael Jordan's Bulls):

Karl Malone, at halftime in the studio: "How much talent can God bless one guy with? Lamar Odom is one of the most talented guys, 6-10, he can do a lot of things. Last I checked he wanted a new contract. Hey, 'Step up big fella.' "

Announcer Doug Collins: Kobe Bryant "can miss 10 straight and think he's hot. That's the beauty of great players. It's 'Next play, next play.' "

• FOULED ON THE DRIVE -- Starting forward Dominique McCoy has been suspended from the Bowling Green women's basketball team, the Toledo (Ohio) Blade reported, after she was charged with DUI (police say she blew a 0.178), driving with a suspended license, failure to use turn signals and open liquor container in her car.

School publicists say it's her first quadruple-trouble.

• PLANNING AHEAD -- Bo Jackson to Leighton Ginn of the Desert Sun (Palm Springs, Calif.), on life at Auburn with Charles Barkley: "Any time the pizza truck came and was going to the basketball players' room, the football players would go up and not ask for pizza but demand pizza. They were living in our dorm.

"Barkley was smart. Barkley would call up and he would order three pizzas, two for him and one for the football players coming in."

• SNAPPING 'EM UP -- The most popular hamburger at the St. Paul Shamrock Pub, the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press reported, is the one named in honor of Matt Birk, the Vikings' seven-time Pro Bowl center.

Get ready for a price hike.

• A-ROID -- Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003 when he played for the Texas Rangers, reported Sports Illustrated, citing four sources.

What, that wasn't vitamin B-12 he grabbed out of Rafael Palmeiro's locker?

• JUST DROP IT -- The Sacramento Kings retired Chris Webber's No. 4 on Friday, with plans to do the same for uber-flopper Vlade Divac next month.

But no need to hoist that jersey to the rafters -- just drop it to the floor.

• THAR HE BLOWS -- "If you had a party," ABC's Jimmy Kimmel mused, "it seems to me the last person you want to hit the bong is Michael Phelps, with the lung capacity of a humpback whale."

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