Don James Was No. 2 Then, Too

The image he projects is mostly bland, but nobody wants to be No. 1 more than Don James. So says Dick Scesniak, a former assistant to James at Washington and now the head coach at Kent State.

Scesniak tells this story, which involves another ex-Washington aide, Ray Dorr, now the head coach at Southern Illinois:

“At Washington, we rode buses to nearby Pac-10 games. During one trip, the second bus happened to pass the first bus.

“Dorr, who was in charge of the buses, nearly died. I was with the group on the second bus and I remember passing the first bus and looking at the faces in the windows. Dorr’s was white. He and the other assistants looked as if they’d just seen God, or something.”

Scesniak says James demanded that the driver of his bus pass the other bus. The driver declined.

“Don then demanded that the driver get on the radio and tell the other driver to pull over and let Don’s bus regain the No. 1 position. Again the driver refused.

“Well, Don went wild. He ranted and raved and made it pretty miserable for that driver. When the buses got to Portland, the driver of Don’s bus pulled to the side of the road, got out and walked away. We had to get another driver.

“After that, the players who rode the second bus always encouraged the driver to pass the first bus. But it never happened.”

Add No. 1: The Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo sent its newborn babies home Wednesday wearing T-shirts that read: “Enough Talk, BYU No. 1.” Each baby boy also was given a blue and white football, while the infant girls received blue and white pompons.

Meanwhile, mayors and commissioners of Salt Lake County passed a resolution suggesting naming the county’s new sewage lagoons the “Barry Switzer Bowl.”

In Buffalo, they have formed the Draft Doug Flutie Assn. In its first release, the DDFA proclaimed: “The Bills must draft Doug Flutie. Some say he’s a gamble because of his height, but letting the Bills draft at all is a gamble.”

Dwight Clark wasn’t impressed when told that Joe Theismann predicted that Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers would be unable to handle the pass rush of the Chicago Bears Sunday.

Clark’s only comment: “This week, Joe Theismann’s watching, and Joe Montana’s playing.”

Said 49er tackle Bubba Paris when told that the Bears would be coming with everything, including the kitchen sink: “I’m big enough to catch the kitchen sink, too.”

Paris is 6-6 and 295.

Add Bears: They like to project a macho image, but receiver Willie Gault admits he doesn’t want his number called on any slant-ins against the 49ers.

“I hope I don’t see their linebackers at all,” he says. “I hope to meet them after the game.”

Add 49ers: Wrote Bob Sudyk of the Hartford Courant after Randy Cross indicated Wendell Tyler could become an important weapon Sunday: “Except the last time Tyler faced the Bears, he rushed for 18 yards, lost two fumbles--one on first-and-goal at the Chicago one-yard line--and was benched.”

That was in 13th week last season. The Bears won, 13-3.

Ugh Dept.: From Will Kern, meet director of The Times/Kodak Indoor Games Feb. 8 at the Forum: “The bad news is that Evelyn Ashford is pregnant. The good news is that, in a 100-meter dash the other day, she finished first and second.”

Quotebook

Eddie Robinson, head football coach at Grambling: “My players can wear their hair as long as they want and dress any way they want. That is, if they can afford to pay their own tuition, room and board.”