Giving back is a given for Tomlinson
The San Diego Chargers’ LaDainian Tomlinson, who will be featured on CBS’ “60 Minutes” tonight, has a different outlook than most athletes. He believes what he does off the field is more important than what he does on it.
On Thanksgiving, Tomlinson gave out meals to 2,000 families. He provides college scholarships to seniors at his high school in Waco, Texas. He has a charity golf tournament. He hands out bicycles and shoes to underprivileged children, and also buys 21 tickets (his jersey number is 21) to every Chargers home game for children who can’t afford them.
Tomlinson’s wife, Latorsha, is also involved in many of her husband’s charitable activities.
“People may remember something I did on the field for a couple of days, maybe a week,” Tomlinson tells reporter Bob Simon, “but the things that I do and we do in the community is something that people remember for the rest of their lives.”
Trivia time
Tomlinson helped Texas Christian to its first bowl-game victory in 41 years when the Horned Frogs won the 1998 Sun Bowl. Who was the opponent?
Breaking point
Another of the NFL’s good guys is Indianapolis Colts Coach Tony Dungy, who was interviewed by Bob Costas on HBO’s “Costas Now” last week.
Costas asked Dungy what was the maddest he’d ever been.
“Never got mad on the field,” Dungy said. “The maddest I’ve been with my team was when we had two guys miss appointments, one with a fourth-grade class and one at an autograph session.
“And we had just had this over and over and over again, guys not being responsible, and that was the one time that I blew up in a team meeting.”
Costas: “So the maddest Tony Dungy has ever been as a coach was when one of his players missed an appearance in front of a group of fourth-graders. . . .”
Butte 1, Billings 0
Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times noted that Evel Knievel, the motorcycle stuntman who died Nov. 30 at age 69, embodied his hometown of Butte, Mont., and never forgot where he came from..
Perry found this quote from Bill Foley in the Montana Standard of Butte: “Like him or not, Evel and Butte will forever be linked. I’ll take that over Brent Musburger and Billings any day.”
Apt description
Jim Murray wrote a column about Knievel that appeared in The Times on this date in 1988.
“He was either on a motorcycle or in an ambulance,” Murray wrote. “He was America’s accident. The falling body.
“Look for the nearest crumpled heap and underneath was what was left of Robert Craig Knievel. The guy in the white silk suit with all the rhinestones -- and blood -- all over it. He broke more bones than holiday traffic.”
Access or excess?
The league mandate to allow ESPN and TNT to put microphones on NBA coaches was pushed by Commissioner David Stern, but it hasn’t been too well received among the coaching ranks.
San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich told the Dallas Morning News: “I’m willing to bet it would give pause to [Stern] and his group if all of a sudden at their next important meeting it had a dedicated camera and microphone during the whole meeting.”
Trivia answer
USC. TCU, coached by Dennis Franchione, was led by tailback Basil Mitchell, who ran for 185 yards and two touchdowns, in the 28-19 victory. Tomlinson, a sophomore, had 30 yards in 12 carries and caught a pass for 25 yards.
And finally
Playing 36 holes of golf in one day is fairly common, but how about 650 holes in 40 hours? That’s what Adam Engel, 25, of Australia did recently to benefit leukemia research, according to the Associated Press.
No stroke total was announced, but Engel lost only two balls, took only three breaks for showers and meals, and relied on coffee to keep himself awake.
And he concluded his golf marathon by chipping in for a birdie.
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