Altitude sickness

BYU's Trent Plaisted worked out for the Jazz last week but apparently didn't impress. They passed on him twice in the draft, instead opting for Ohio State's Kosta Koufos and Croatia's Ante Tomic with 23rd and 44th picks.

Plaisted was selected 46th by Seattle, then traded to Detroit. His struggles in Salt Lake were exacerbated by allergies and altitude, which he said combined to make him sick on the orange juice he drank.

Or maybe, as the Jazz noted, he was simply out of shape.

"I've been away from this altitude for a while, and it had an effect on me, no question," he told reporters.

So the next time you see the 6-foot-11 Plaisted in an airport, please don't ask, "How's the air up there, big guy?"

The answer is "a little thin."

A day to rest

Remember the long-ago song by The Chordettes called "Never on Sunday"?

Apparently the Baltimore Orioles do.

They have now lost 12 consecutive games on Sunday and won just one all year.

What exactly the O's are supposed to do about it is anyone's guess. They're scheduled to play every Sunday the rest of the way, including the season finale.

Perhaps they'd do well to take Ernie Banks' advice and whenever possible play two — on Saturday.

Just wondering, would a series of weekday triple-headers be out of the question?

On hold

Paul and Karen Dupaix of Tooele were having their roof repaired last week when workers made an unsettling discovery: a human skull in the attic of their century-old home. News reports said it was lodged between the ceiling and storage cabinets along the wall.

No word yet on whose skull it was or how it got there, but early suspicions are it's Latrell Sprewell, waiting for his agent to call.

A little fib

Anaheim Ducks owner Henry Samuel was suspended last week by the NHL. The reason: He pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Sources say he told the commission there was no such thing as fighting in hockey.

Old school

Ever wonder what it's like being an NBA executive?

Now you know.

After drafting Koufos, Thursday, Jazz G.M. Kevin O'Connor said, "We're sick of looking at each other. We're sick of having pizza. We're sick of being in this building. But it's turned out pretty well for us."

Sounds exactly like living in the college dorms.

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E-mail: rock@desnews.com