David Robinson

David Robinson, an accomplished pianist as well as a basketball player, had some spare time Saturday during an Olympic off-day. So, Robinson took a saxophone lesson from jazz musician Branford Marsalis, bandleader of NBC-TV's "Tonight Show." "Maybe Bill Clinton and I can play dueling sax," Robinson said. This a daily roundup of Olympic-related items from reporters in Barcelona from the Los Angeles Times, Newsday, Baltimore Sun and Hartford Courant, all Times-Mirror newspapers.

AT THE LINE Neither the Lakers (68%, rank 27th) or the Spurs (69%, rank 24th) shoot very well from the free-throw line. Here's a breakdown of what happened during game 3.

San Antonio Spur center David Robinson, half of the team's so-called "Twin Towers," said Tuesday he's not sure the nickname is appropriate following the terrorist attacks in New York. Robinson, who attended the U.S. Naval Academy, and Tim Duncan received the nickname when they became teammates in 1997. Antonio McDyess of the Denver Nuggets is scheduled for knee surgery Friday and could be out for three months.

Got an e-mail from Nate after the first game of the Western Conference finals. "Evil 1, Good 0." Clever. Received an e-mail from Dan after Game 2. "I had the series going six games, but now it looks like a four-game SWEEP!" Cute. Nate and Dan represent the kinder, gentler element of the Los Angeles Lakers' fan base. Erin represents another element: "The next time David Robinson is quoting those scriptures, you may ask him to quote a few regarding judging, jealousy and being a HUGE hypocrite."

Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing are undecided about accepting invitations to be on the U.S. basketball team for next year's Olympics, their agent said Monday. David Falk and the NBA denied a report in Monday's Chicago Tribune that Jordan, of the Chicago Bulls, and Ewing, of the New York Knicks, turned down offers to play in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. NBA players will be eligible for the Games for the first time.

Regarding the attempts by Napoleon McCallum and David Robinson to play professional sports, I have a simple solution to suggest. Let each man sponsor two fully paid scholarships to Annapolis (no doubt the Raiders and San Antonio Spurs would be willing to pitch in the $200,000 or so per student to do so). This would provide the taxpayers with a refund of McCallum's and Robinson's educational expenses, with interest and a moderate penalty. Then, make them each serve three months per year, to keep his Navy skills honed, until the midshipmen they "sponsored" graduate from the academy.

David Robinson scored 34 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, to help the San Antonio Spurs hold off the Milwaukee Bucks, 102-95, Monday night at San Antonio. Dale Ellis added 22 points for the Spurs, who extended their win streak to five. The Bucks rallied from a 15-point third-quarter deficit to pull within one, 86-85, on two free throws by Jon Barry with 6:11 left. But Robinson, who made 13 of 17 shots and grabbed nine rebounds, started an 8-0 run with consecutive jump shots.