Bad to the bone

That throw-down L.A.'s Ronny Turiaf put on Ronnie Price, Sunday — a Level 2 flagrant — had quite an impact.

Price ended up with four stitches over his eye and Turiaf was ejected.

"It's the playoffs, that's all I can say," said Price. "It happens."

Turiaf explained the fender-bender thusly: "Ronnie Price is a point guard, and I am a big guy, and unfortunately, our bodies collided and he fell to the floor."

The moment was actually not unlike a 1991 big-guy, little-guy crackup, in which Isiah Thomas took stitches thanks to Karl Malone. Thomas claimed the injury could have been career-ending, but the plastic surgeon who stitched him strongly disagreed.

Imagine that. Thomas crying over a few stitches.

Sort of makes you wonder how the "Bad Boys" got their reputation in the first place.

Religion of hoops

When the Jazz were playing the Rockets in the first round, a local attorney hatched a plan to highlight FLDS members' plight in Texas.

He advocated canceling games in Salt Lake, and suggested FLDS supporters show up at the players' hotel rooms.

He added that he wanted to "have a number of the polygamist women go and have a meeting with the team players."

Wait a minute. Women roaming hotels hoping to meet with NBA players.

Hasn't that been done before?

On the other hand, it does give entirely new meaning to the term "groupie."

Backstory

If you're wondering whether Carlos Boozer's sore back is one reason he's still not shooting well, read between the lines on his comment regarding Kobe Bryant's back woes: "It's the playoffs. We all have bumps and bruises. We're all playing through something right now."

Next question.

Ron-ning tally

Has anyone noticed there are three — count 'em — three Ronnies in this series?

Ronnie Price, Ronnie Brewer and Ronny Turiaf.

All they need now is to have referees Ron Garretson and Ron Oleskiak show up and it would be a regular RonFest.

Maybe they could even make it into a new NBA slogan: All Ron, All the Time.

Foreign invasion

As L.A. Times columnist Jerry Crowe points out, last time the Jazz and Lakers met in the playoffs (1998), the only "foreign" player was Laker Rick Fox, born in Toronto.

Now the list of those with foreign roots is much longer: Andrei Kirilenko (Russia) , Mehmet Okur (Turkey), Kyrylo Fesenko (Ukraine), Vladimir Radmanovich (Serbia and Montenegro), Pau Gasol (Spain), DJ Mbenga (Congo), Sasha Vujacic (Slovenia), Boozer (Germany) and Turiaf (Martinique).

Oh, and Ronnie Brewer, who went to high school and college in Arkansas.

---

E-mail: rock@desnews.com