Tipsheet listened to Don Imus today, eager to hear him respond to the heat he got for comments about Adam “Don’t Call Me Pacman” Jones.

Our take? Imus was ripping the practice of racial profiling, not the oft-arrested Jones, with his comments. That was the context. But listeners could have missed the point, since Imus didn’t elaborate at the time.

“What people should be outraged about is that they arrest blacks for no reason,” Imus said Tuesday. “I mean, there’s no reason to arrest this kid six times. Maybe he did something once, but everyone does something once.”

Naturally, those who missed the point tied the remarks to Imus’ unfortunate comments about the Rutgers women’s basketball team – comments that cost him his earlier radio and TV deals.

Jones heard about the controversy but also missed the point.

“I’m truly upset about the comments,” Jones said. “Obviously Mr. Imus has problems with African-Americans. I’m upset, and I hope the station he works for handles it accordingly. I will pray for him.”

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Questions to ponder while waiting for T.J. Oshie and Patrik Berglund to generate some much-needed offense for the Blues:

• Will Nikolai Lemtyugov join the fun in St. Louis this season? Or will he go the way of Konstantin Zakharov and Timofei Shishkanov?
• With Clayton Mortensen throwing well in the Memphis rotation – and with Colby Rasmus pounding the ball – might the Cards soon have their 10th and 11th players make their big league debut this season?
• Did Yahoo! Sports really have to bring us details of Steven Jackson’s, um, cleansing? Did we really need to hear so much about his colon?

THE NO-LOVE SHAQ

Shaquille O’Neal asked reporters not to make a big deal over his impromptu rap performance Sunday, which including a Kobe Bryant-bashing refrain we can’t repeat here.

Of course, there was some build-up to his profane finishing line. Shaq started with “You know how I be, last week, Kobe couldn’t do it without me.” That needled Kobe for the egregious Lakers collapse in Boston.

O’Neal also referenced Bryant’s earlier assertion that Shaq covered up off-court issues with hush money. “I’m a horse, Kobe ratted me out, that’s why I’m getting divorced . . . He said Shaq gave a (woman) a mil. I don’t do that ’cause my name’s Shaquille. I love ‘em, I don’t leave ‘em. I got a vasectomy, now I can’t breed ‘em.”

We can only hope Shaq won’t be back in the recording studio any time soon.

THAT’S JUST MEAN

NBC funnyman Jay Leno had this take on golf: “Mathematicians at Stanford University have calculated the smallest number known to man. It’s the Nielsen ratings golf would get without Tiger Woods.”

QUIPS ‘R US

Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:

Steve Rosenbloom, ChicagoSports.com: “James Caan says the NFL killed his TV drama ‘Las Vegas’ by ordering business partner NBC to move the show from Mondays to Fridays, which is a death sentence for TV shows. Roger Goodell’s sanctimonious hucksters don’t like gambling references, even though gambling is exactly what made the NFL so popular. Either that, or Bill Belichick’s charisma.”

Norman Chad, syndicated columnist, on potential World Series match-up: “The Marlins and Rays are children of the 1990s. Before either one of them was in diapers, Roger Clemens had already won three Cy Young Awards, struck out 20 batters in a single game and taken Mindy McCready to Dairy Queen.”

Dwight Perry, Seattle Times: “Xavier point guard Drew Lavender was arrested for disorderly conduct after he refused repeated police orders to move out of a street intersection, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported, and cops say they also discovered marijuana on him. As for the criminal charges, let’s just say the possession arrow is pointing his way.”

Dan Daly, Washington Times: “The Bears, meanwhile, signed defensive tackle Tommie Harris to a four-year, $40 million extension. According to reports, Harris gets $10 million up front and $18 million guaranteed, including a $2 million bonus for Not Being Tank Johnson.”

Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel: “One of the most baffling comments I’ve heard in a while came from Magic GM Otis Smith, who recently tried to defend the drafting of Fran Vazquez and J.J. Redick. Said Otis: ‘I don’t look at those picks as failures.’ In related news, Otis also is a big fan of the Edsel, New Coke and Eddie Murphy in The Adventures of Pluto Nash. Let’s just hope Otis comes back to reality before the draft this week and Magic fans don’t have to hear this all-too-familiar refrain: ‘And with the 22nd pick of the 2008 NBA draft, the Orlando Magic take — (pause) — the wrong guy!’”

Greg Cote, Miami Herald: “Boston pitcher Curt Schilling will undergo season- and likely career-ending shoulder surgery. When they honor him at Fenway Park, will it be called Bloody Sock Night?”

MEGAPHONE

“He’s tough. It doesn’t matter who he’s pitching against. There are a few pitchers in the big leagues today that I enjoy watching and pitching against . . . Haren’s obviously one of them.”

Red Sox hurler Josh Beckett, talking up former Cardinal Danny Haren.