Fans With a Yen for NBA in Japan Need Plenty of It

If you think seats for Laker games are expensive, think about what fans are paying to watch NBA stars in Tokyo.

Courtside seats went for $350 for exhibition games Tuesday night and tonight featuring Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and eight other NBA all-stars. There were 35,000 fans at Tuesday night’s game in the 38,000-seat Tokyo Dome. All 500 of the $350 seats were sold.

Prize Laker seats will go for $125 next season, up from $110.

On the other hand, Tokyo prices are a bargain compared to the floor seats where Jack Nicholson and his cronies sit at the Forum. They don’t go on public sale, but they sell for $800.

Trivia time: Who is the last European-born golfer to win the PGA Championship?

Priorities: Major Mike Bloomfield, who was a defensive back at Air Force in 1978, is piloting the space shuttle Atlantis that will hook up next month with the Mir space station. In a letter to a former coach, he wrote: “This Atlantis thing is pretty good, but it doesn’t beat tackling the Navy fullback.”

Now that’s fast: In its report of a recent national motocross, Cycle News noted, “[Ricky] Carmichael steadily began to close the gap by about a lap per second.”

Reader Rich Fern wanted to know, “How could you see him pass by to know where he was? We all know Ricky is fast, but let’s get real.”

Hey, look at me: Carl Lewis is donating a life-size mural of himself performing the long jump for students at his old high school in Willingboro, N.J.

“I made it from right where they are now, and I want the students to know if little ol’ me could do it, they can too,” the nine-time Olympic gold medalist said.

Welcome relief: Baseball players usually fret over time lost when they are suspended, but not Colorado Rocky first baseman Andres Galarraga. He says a recent suspension helped him.

“I had felt tired, but the three days I got off for the suspension helped get me some rest,” Galarraga said. “I am feeling it in my bat with more bat speed and more strength.”

Gimme a B: How would Barbie be as a cheerleader? She’s already a dentist, gymnast and astronaut, so why not a college student.

Nineteen colleges--Arizona is the only one in the Pacific 10--will feature University Barbie decked out in school colors this fall. To be one of the 19, the school colors had to include red, blue and orange.

Trivia answer: Tommy Armour of Scotland, in 1930.

And finally: Gil LeBreton of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram recalls his favorite Ben Hogan story:

“In his quest to win a Grand Slam, Masters champion Nick Faldo reportedly chartered a private jet--at no small expense--and flew to Fort Worth for a personal audience with the great Hogan.

“Once there . . . Faldo asked Hogan to share the secret for winning the U.S. Open.

“ ‘Shoot the lowest score,’ Hogan barked back.

“End of pilgrimage.”