Another Reason Not to Compare Spurs to Bulls

Steve Kerr, who won three NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls under coach Phil Jackson, was asked to compare the Zen Master with San Antonio Coach Gregg Popovich.

“Totally different. Pop is very matter-of-fact. He’s not spiritual and mystical like Phil is,� Kerr said. “He’s not a fire-and-brimstone-speech kind of guy. He’s a military guy. He demands respect, but there’s not much [required] to it.

“And that’s kind of the way our team is. We kind of mirror his personality. We just get the job done.�

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Trivia time: Jesse Owens set a world record in the long jump of 26 feet 8 1/4 inches in 1935. How long did it last and who broke it?

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Rubbing it in: Before the Dodger-Giant weekend series began in San Francisco, the Chronicle’s Henry Schulman wrote:

“Dear Los Angeles Dodgers: When you visit Candlestick Point this weekend, please forgive the San Francisco Giant fans for gloating a little.

“After all, you have been a model franchise for four decades and now you are more disheveled than Jerry Springer’s set after a taping.�

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More Dodgers: Ron Perranoski, the Giant pitching coach and former Dodger pitcher and coach, isn’t gloating about his former team’s plight:

“I’m very fortunate I don’t have to be there during the times they’re going through now. It would break my heart.�

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Transformation: Skip Bayless of the Chicago Tribune, on the Women’s World Cup:

“So this is what happened to Dennis Rodman. He finally realized his dream of turning himself into Dennis Rodwoman, cloned himself, dyed his hair all sorts of inexplicable colors and became the Nigerian Women’s World Cup team.�

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Easy money: Marlen Weingartner of Germany lost, 6-0 6-0, in singles Wednesday at Wimbledon, then lost by the same score in doubles on Thursday. For this she will take home $12,672.

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Go for it: Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Examiner, suggesting a dangerous event for the X Games: “We could have them ride down the stairs at Candlestick Park wearing Dodger caps and shirts that read, ‘Dusty Baker Likes Polka Music.’ �

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Ticket with a smile: The head of the Department of Parking and Traffic in San Francisco, which is hosting the X Games, is Stuart Sunshine.

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Trivia answer: Twenty-five years. It was broken by Ralph Boston with a jump of 26-11 1/4.

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And finally: Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe, on tennis writer and TV commentator Bud Collins, the recipient of the Associated Press Sports Editors’ Red Smith Award:

“Bud wrote the tennis encyclopedia. Literally. He knows all the players and they know him.

“I shall never forget the sight of Chris Evert, walking off Centre Court after losing a Wimbledon final to Martina Navratilova, and greeting a microphone-wielding Collins, on live television, with, ‘Nice pants, Bud.’ �