She wins award for blog rolling

The Phoenix Mercury’s Diana Taurasi always has been the perfect combination of sharp and smooth, and her take on the WNBA on her blog at yardbarker.com is realistic and revealing.

Taurasi’s 10 questions to ask yourself during the WNBA finals -- and you’ll have to figure out the inside-ball talk on your own:

“1) Did I know the WNBA was in season? If not, you have a lot of catching up to do. You’ve missed some serious, high-level hoop.

“2) Do people tune in to bask in the glory that is Bill Laimbeer’s sideline manner? Is that why the league always has him mic’d up?

“3) Are the refs going to be interviewed after the game like the players? Why not during the game -- like the players! I can already see Rebecca Lobo hustling after a ref in the tunnel, chastising her about a touch foul. Hilarious.

“4) How many more pushups can Kelly Miller do than you? One-handed? Trust me. It’s no contest. Have you seen her arms? She borrowed them from the Governator.

“5) Cappie or Tweety? I love Deanna, but I’m ridin’ with Cap.

“6) Will BD and Teri Hatcher appear courtside and inject some Hollywood into the W, a la Jessica Alba, Owen Wilson, Kate Hudson and Snoop @ the Warriors playoffs? Oh and Too $hort was there too, right? Or no? C’mon people. We need some footage for commercials. Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, Amare Stoudemire. You all have to come out for Game 3 and 4. Chauncey and his daughter represented for the Shock.

“7) Karl Malone and Cheryl Ford are. . . father and daughter? Or twins? It is amazing how much she looks like him, in the face and in the arms. She’s a cool girl, and a great player. I hope she gets back to action. (Do I? What am I saying??)

“8) Is Don Imus watching?

“9) Is Gil, Penny Taylor’s Husband the Eva Longoria of the WNBA?

“10) Would I rather watch Appalachian State’s kid brother, Michigan, Saturday, or watch me and Swin Cash go at it in Game 2? Yeaaahhhhhhh….See you on Saturday on ESPN 12:30 pm PST. It’s on.”

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Trivia time

Louisville and Middle Tennessee combined for 1,284 total yards in No. 8-ranked Louisville’s 58-42 victory Thursday.

Name the two teams involved when the record of 1,640 combined yards in a major college football game was set in 2001.

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Pet rock, anyone?

Sometimes, EBay simply rewards creativity, as in the case of the woman who let a couple of her dogs chew on Michael Vick trading cards.

The latest: Someone is offering a grilled-cheese sandwich with the distinct imprint of a baseball purportedly made by Barry Bonds’ 756th home run ball.

Bidding, which started at $7.56, was up to $8.06 Friday.

Caveat emptor: Shipping costs are also $7.56.

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That’s the ticket

Jerry Crasnick writing in Baseball America, offers some theories -- some of them plausible -- on how the dip in home-run production could be something other than Major League Baseball’s crackdown on steroids.

Among them: aging sluggers, injuries, climate-controlled ball storage and pitching.

And this, from Dave Lawson, statistical consultant to the Brewers and Rangers, citing lower temperatures:

“It has nothing to do with steroids, in my opinion, and a lot more to do with the weather,” Lawson said.

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Trivia answer

San Jose State (849) and Nevada (791) combined for 1,640 yards in San Jose State’s 64-45 victory.

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And finally

Tiger Woods, asked who could bench-press more, him or K.J. Choi: “Oh, K.J., there’s no doubt. I know he can squat a hell of a lot more than me. He can squat a car.”

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