The cornerback’s belief in himself helped him avoid a bear of a test.

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Test? Deion Sanders don’t need no stinking test.

The New York Giants got an early introduction to Neon Deion’s bravado at the 1989 NFL combine.

“They sat me down and gave me a thick book … thicker than a phone book,” Sanders told The Dallas Morning News. “I said, ‘What’s this?’

“They said, ‘This is our test that we give all the players.’

“I said, ‘Excuse me, what pick do you have in the draft?’

“They said, ‘Tenth.’

“I said, ‘I’ll be gone before then. I’ll see y’all later.’ ”

Sanders was selected fifth — by the Atlanta Falcons.

Quick Whistle Dept.

Talk about getting an early T time: DeMarcus Cousins’ 101st career technical foul was also his quickest — coming just 32 seconds into the Pelicans-Thunder game on Feb. 26.

Hockey quiz

The Washington Capitals beefed up for the playoffs by beaming aboard defenseman:

a) Kevin Shatternkirk

b) William Shatnerkirk

Broom service

Catlin Schneider, a member of Saskatchewan’s provincial curling champs, doubles as a receiver for the University of Regina football team.

Something tells us he ran a lot of curl patterns.

All-star cast

Who says pro sports aren’t show business?

Andrew Bogut broke a leg in his Cavaliers debut.

Talking the talk

• IMG (Fla.) Academy football coach Kevin Wright, to Sports Illustrated, on trying to accommodate 6-foot-9, 396-pound neophyte Daniel Faalele of Australia: “We just had a kid from India who was 7-2. I know that bed is here someplace.”

• NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, as quoted by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, on getting bullied as a kid in Harlem: “I got beat up quite a bit. But once I got the jab down, they didn’t bother me anymore.”

• Kneecapped figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, to the New York Post, on why she has no interest in seeing “I, Tonya,” the upcoming Tonya Harding biopic: “I already lived it.”

• TBS’s Conan O’Brien, after research claiming that Americans are getting fatter and giving up on their diets: “The study was conducted by going to a water park for five minutes.”

Batter … urp!

Food stands at the Royals’ spring-training ballpark in Surprise, Ariz., are selling a hot dog — wrapped in bacon, which is then wrapped in a cheeseburger — called the Triple Play Dog.

What, was “Triple Bypass” already taken?

Our RPI is slipping

The United States fell from fourth to seventh in U.S. News & World Report’s latest annual ranking of the world’s best countries.

At this rate, we won’t even make the playoffs next year.

Headlines

• At TheOnion.com: “Benny The Bull busted for possession of unlicensed T-shirt gun.”

• At TheKicker.com: “Romo seen leaving AT&T Stadium with box full of casts.”

You shouldn’t have

The Sacramento Kings blew a 28-point lead in falling to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.

But there wasn’t a dry eye in sight when they walked into the locker room and saw the pick-me-up bouquet from the Atlanta Falcons sitting there.

Week that wasn’t

March 5-11, in case you missed it, was National Procrastination Week.

But not for the Lakers, who won Thursday for the first time since Feb. 10.

Raising the bar

Gold medalist Dick Fosbury, the inventor of high jumping’s “Fosbury Flop,” became a septuagenarian on March 6.

In other words, clearing 7-0 just took on a whole new meaning.

Here’s the beef

Michigan football’s latest recruiting haul includes nine linemen ranging in weight from 278 to 335 pounds.

Bo Schembechler once wanted “a Michigan man.” Jim Harbaugh, it seems, prefers Michelin.

Mee-meep!

Ex-UW Husky receiver John Ross ran a 4.22 to break the NFL combine record for the 40-yard dash.

On the downside, a coyote on roller skates wearing an Acme rocket jet pack is suddenly following him around.

More headlines

• At SportsPickle.com: “ESPN fires Joe Lunardi after discovering he has been practicing bracketology without a license.”

• At TheKicker.com: “Report: Browns interested in drafting Alabama.”

Quote marks

• Brad Rock of Salt Lake City’s Deseret News, after ex-slugger Sammy Sosa, in a blog post, denied steroid use, compared his travails to Jesus and claimed he introduced Chicago to the world: “ ‘Do tell,’ said Michael Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, Stan Mikita, Walter Payton, Ernie Banks, Benny Goodman …”

• Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, to The Dallas Morning News, on star forward Dirk Nowitzki’s steadfast loyalty to the team and city for 19 seasons: “When you pay somebody $200 million, they tend to be loyal.”

• Ex-UW receiver John Ross, to the NFL Network, on breaking the NFL combine record in the 40-yard dash but missing out on the prize of an island because he didn’t do it in Adidas cleats: “I really can’t swim that well. And I don’t have a boat, so, you know, I had to run in Nikes.”

• Janice Hough of LeftCoastSportsBabe.com, after the Rams unveiled their retro uniforms for the 2017 season: “Unfortunately for L.A. fans, the uniforms will have the same players in them.”

Next!

Among the rejected slogans for the World Baseball Classic, from SportsPickle.com:

• “Playing baseball as one world until the next travel ban kicks in.”

• “Debatedly better than spring-training games.”

• “What you’ll blame your pitcher’s shoulder fatigue on in September.”

And more headlines

• At SportsPickle.com: “Bengals planning to hold additional prospect combine at Ohio’s largest supermax prison.”

• At TheKicker.com: “Fun: Madison Square Garden debuts ‘Wince Cam’ during Knicks games.”

Quoth the mavens

• Mike Bianchi of the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel, after Kyle Busch blamed Goodyear tires for causing his crash in the Daytona 500: “This is a case of biting the hand that speeds you.”

• Blogger TC Chong, after the Texans unloaded QB Brock Osweiler on Cleveland: “Brock immediately sent Johnny Manziel a friend request.”

• Jim Barach of WCHS-TV in Charleston, W.Va., on a study that says adults who eat home-cooked food and don’t watch TV during meals are less likely to be obese: “Which is good news for all three of those people.”

• Brad Dickson of the Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald, after the York Jets released center Nick Mangold after 11 seasons: “He played for so long that 14 ex- and current Jets quarterbacks can pick his butt out of a lineup.”