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There must be a better choice

Former New York Mets first baseman Keith Hernandez said he could make a guest appearance on the final episode of NBC’s hit comedy “Seinfeld.”

Hernandez, who seven years ago guest-starred in an episode that parodied the courtroom re-enactment of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in the movie “JFK,” told “Access Hollywood” that he’s been contacted about appearing on the final episode.

The network in December said its top-rated comedy will end after this season.

“They wanted me to clear the first week of April out ‘cause they are considering having me on the final episode,” Hernandez told “Access Hollywood” in an interview that was broadcast last week.

“Kids 25 and under, they don’t know I played baseball because they were too young. They know me from “Seinfeld.”

And kids 25 and older know baseball’s most famous cocaine user from his courtroom days.

Melting pot

The Atlanta Hawks’ Dikembe Mutombo is enthralled with New York because “the city is wild and crazy and they’ve got a million bad people and a million good people here all mixed together.”

“What about the other 6 million?” asks Mal Florence of the Los Angeles Times.

They’re watching Seinfeld reruns.

Practice makes perfect-ly awful TV

Tim Keown, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle: “What word could we find to describe the television coverage of the Winter Olympics?

“We’re being asked to watch people practice. At CBS, where the official motto seems to be ‘Yesterday’s Results Tomorrow,’ one of the only events we’re getting live isn’t an event at all.

“It’s Michelle Kwan, walking into the arena. It’s Michelle Kwan, lacing ‘em up. It’s Michelle Kwan, practicing.”

It’s America, changing the channel.

We get so little respect

Volunteers at the Nagano Winter Olympics have been warned - beware of journalists.

Nearly 10,000 reporters, cameramen, broadcasters and media technicians have converged on Nagano for the Winter Olympics, which will be seen in a record 160 countries.

Such attention is new to Nagano, and officials here are taking great pains to both welcome the media and see that they give the world a favorable impression of the city.

The first task at hand - know the enemy.

Volunteers in an official training course conducted before the games for national Olympic committee assistants, for example, were given materials with the following advice:

“Don’t take it personally if you are spoken to loudly or even with a threatening tone. They are just trying to do their job as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

The last word …

“He never liked me. I know because he told me that before… . He thinks I’m a dirty hockey player… . I hate his guts.”

- New York Islanders defenseman Rich Pilon on referee Paul Stewart. Pilon was subsequently fined $1,000 for his remarks.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo