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Give me the b-a-a-w-l, man

It was no big deal, insists 49ers coach Steve Mariucci.

In fact, Mariucci said he and Jerry Rice had a laugh Wednesday about the entire episode.

Rice, returning from two major injuries that sidelined him most of last year, apparently was unhappy with the number of passes thrown his way in Monday night’s 45-10 victory at Washington. He let Mariucci know his displeasure in a brief, but sharp, sideline encounter during the fourth quarter.

Rice declined to comment after the game and left practice Wednesday without talking to reporters. Mariucci said he met with Rice before Wednesday’s practice and, “We had a giggle about it.”

Mariucci said he understands where Rice is coming from and that the 11-time Pro Bowler is in a hurry to regain his marquee form as well as his place in the offense.

“That’s what makes him so great,” Mariucci said. “He’s a perfectionist. If things don’t go as he hopes or envisions, maybe he gets a little frustrated. But it’s no big deal. It’s perfectly normal.”

Perfectly normal these days for a pro athlete to think he knows more than his coach.

I can’t see clearly now

A Sammy Sosa fan, who paid homage to the Chicago Cubs star by writing Sosa’s name and home run total on three of his car’s windows, was given a traffic ticket for having an obstructed view.

Motorists throughout New York, particularly in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, have been using soap to write Sosa’s name and home run total on their cars.

Sosa is from the Dominican Republic and has a huge following in Washington Heights, where a half-million Dominicans live.

What, are all those squeegee guys on vacation?

Exactly who is out of control?

The prospect of losing control of college basketball and the hundreds of millions of dollars it generates frightens the NCAA.

So a blue-ribbon work group headed by Syracuse president Kenneth Shaw is embarking on a study of such worrisome issues as players leaving school early, gambling, recruiting, agents and the growing influence of shoe and apparel giants.

“It is an appropriate endeavor to include a periodic examination of those activities that are essential to the continued fiscal viability of an organization,” Shaw said. “For the NCAA, it’s basketball. Basketball is the NCAA’s most important asset.”

The biggest problem? Meddling by the NCAA, of course.

Thanks but no thanks, Dad

Bob Friend Sr., a former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher, doesn’t play much golf anymore with his son, Bob Jr. The younger Friend recently cracked the PGA Tour and has three top-10 tour finishes this year.

“He’s out of my league,” Friend Sr. told the Toronto Globe and Mail. “He tells me, ‘I don’t want to look at that lousy swing.’ I don’t want to put him in a slump.”

The last word …

“I love him. If I don’t love him, who’s going to love him?”

- Saints coach Mike Ditka on much-maligned quarterback Danny Wuerffel, who was forced into the starting lineup when Billy Joe Hobert was lost for the season.