Building his legacy, brick by brick

As Shaquille O’Neal closes in on a rarefied career milestone -- 5,000 missed free throws -- John Hollinger of ESPN.com tried to put that feat in its proper historical context.

Hollinger noted that only one man in NBA history has missed more free throws -- Wilt Chamberlain, with 5,805 -- and that you could assemble an impressive all-time all-star team from players who did not even attempt 5,000 free throws in their careers:

Point guard: Walt Frazier (4,226 attempts).

Shooting guard: Scottie Pippen (4,437).

Small forward: Larry Bird (4,471).

Power forward: Kevin McHale (4,554).

Center: George Mikan (3,924).

Only 68 players in the combined NBA-ABA history have attempted as many as 5,000 foul shots. Dikembe Mutombo played 17 seasons and fell 51 attempts short.

Trivia time

Which NBA player, with a minimum of 1,200 attempts, has the worst free-throw percentage?

Pull over, spud

As a concept, the movable couch potato has been ruled illegal outside Cleveland Browns Stadium.

For three seasons, Browns fan Mike Meredith has driven the “Go-Kouch,” a combination couch and riding lawn mower, around the stadium parking lot, transporting friends from one tailgate party to another. At a recent game, however, a police officer ticketed Meredith for driving an unregistered vehicle and having expired plates.

Tuesday, a Cleveland Municipal Court judge found Meredith guilty and sentenced him to 10 hours of community service.

“I thought I had a chance for victory,” Meredith told the Plain Dealer newspaper in Cleveland. “He upheld the law. I don’t blame him.”

All of the above?

Multiple-choice question from Chris Ferrell of the San Antonio Express-News:

“The Dallas Cowboys have offered evidence over the past few weeks that:

“a) They have a very dysfunctional locker room.

“b) The team seems as likely to win the Super Bowl as miss the playoffs altogether.

“c) Wade Phillips is going to be a heck of a defensive coordinator for some team next season.”

Trivia answer

Ben Wallace, at 41.9%.

And finally

Hall of Fame quarterback Sammy Baugh, who died Wednesday at age 94, once had this to say about the estimated $300,000 he made in the NFL from 1937 to 1952: “Half went to taxes. The other half went to Texas.”