NORTHWEST PASSAGES

STEVE KELLEY, SEATTLE TIMES

“Shaquille O’Neal took it back to the playground on Monday night--the playground of the 1960s, when girls weren’t allowed and girls’ high-school basketball was a half-court game. . . .

“Shaq probably envisions [George] Karl standing in front of his bedroom closet this afternoon wondering what to wear . . . but this is a playoff game and he should be wearing Vera Wang or Versace.

And forget about defending O’Neal, how does Karl accessorize? A sporty scarf or should he go more evening? Maybe a jeweled clutch and rhinestone earrings?”

JIM MOORE, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER

“[Nick] Van Exel has busted the Sonics in the distant past, but he is playing in the pitiful present now. . . . In other words, if he’s holding a squirt gun, the Sonics aren’t likely to get wet.

“It’s the same thing with [Kobe] Bryant, the 19-year-old who can’t buy a drink or a hoop in Seattle. . . . Peter Vecsey and Bill Walton are more accurate.

“[Del] Harris compared the [Lakers’] predicament to a quarterback confronting a blitz. If that’s the case, provided the trend continues, the Lakers will be in punt formation soon.”