Rock on

Foot traffic

Orlando Magic guard Michael Pietrus has an idea on how to stop Kobe Bryant.

Switch gym shoes.

Pietrus wore shoes during the regular season that were endorsed by the Lakers' superstar. But beginning with the NBA Finals, he said he was changing to a Michael Jordan-endorsed pair.

"The only thing I can do is try to minimize his touches in the fourth quarter," Pietrus told the Orlando Sentinel. "He's (Bryant) a tremendous player and those guys, you cannot stop them. So maybe I can say, 'Hey, stop, Kobe! Yo! Stop!' Maybe that's the only way I can stop him. 'Stop for a minute!'"

Bryant went for 40 points in Game 1, 29 in Game 2.

Rock On sources say for Game 3, Pietrus plans to go with an entirely new approach.

He'll be wearing the original flubber shoes Fred MacMurray made famous in "The Absent-Minded Professor."

Jewel of a find

The Salt Lake Bees had an interesting – you might say sparkling – promotion, last week, when they staged their first ever "Diamond Dig" contest, sponsored by a local jeweler.

Several cubic zirconium, plus one three-quarter carat diamond, were buried in the infield dirt. Fifty selected fans were then allowed to dig for the proverbial diamond in the rough.

Word is after 15 minutes, nobody found any gems, but one contestant said he did unearth Kosta Koufos.

High minded

Some things are impossible.

For instance, it's impossible for Jose Canseco to disappear. It's impossible for baseball players to tell the truth about steroids. And it's impossible for Lakers coach Phil Jackson to not be condescending.

This week, he said he considered becoming a baseball manager before moving to basketball. But, he said, he found hoops more challenging.

"Every single move is another chess situation for you," said Jackson.

Good point. In baseball, you just sit in the dugout and scratch yourself, right?

Besides, if he'd have stayed with baseball, he might have become just another run-of-the-mill Casey Stengel or John McGraw.

Girls rule

The WNBA made a statement, last week, in what was billed as the "Basketball Battle of the Sexes."

The Chicago Sky faced an all-star group of male Hollywood types that included actor Michael Clark Duncan ("The Green Mile"), James Lafferty ("One Tree Hill"), and singers Brian McKnight and Tank.

Turned out it wasn't even a contest. The Sky won by 48.

Which raises a question: How come the actors didn't just recruit Shaq? After all, he starred in "Kazaam" and "Blue Chip."

Maybe because after seeing film of his free-throw shooting, they decided he couldn't do either.

Email: rock@desnews.com