Columbia Game Plan Is Family Plan

Jim Garrett, former Cleveland Browns assistant coach, is the new head coach at Columbia University, and it could turn out to be the greatest package deal in college football history.

According to the New York Times, Garrett, 54, will have three of his sons playing for him next year. They are:

--John Garrett, 20, sophomore wide receiver, already at Columbia.

--Jason Garrett, 19, transferring to Columbia from Princeton where, as the freshman quarterback and captain last season, he completed 74 of 120 passes for 1,078 yards and eight touchdowns in six games.

--Judd Garrett, 17, northeastern Ohio high school player of the year last year at University High in Cleveland, where he gained 2,011 yards and scored 35 touchdowns as a running back.

For Mrs. Garrett’s sake, Columbia, it is hoped, will have a decent record, or there could be some pretty dismal nights at the dinner table.

For sure, the Lions can’t be any worse. In 1984, they were 0-9.

Add Forgettable Quotes: Said Thomas Hearns last week at Las Vegas: “I’ve been fighting light-heavyweights in sparring, and I’ve been taking good care of them. Now, I’m fighting a midget.”

Denver Coach Doug Moe says that the Nuggets will give the Lakers a good run for their money, but Cleveland Cavalier Coach George Karl says: “Doug is a good friend of mine, but they can’t beat L.A. In fact, with the style of ball they play, they could have trouble winning a first-round series.”

Add Karl: Of Cleveland’s series with Boston, he says: “The Celtic mystique and the pride of Larry Bird are powerful forces. He has a winning personality. He won’t allow himself or his teammates to have a bad night. You always hope you can shoot 79% like Villanova did and win.”

From Al McGuire, promising he won’t coach again: “My era is over. Dictator coaches are finished. I was good for the ‘Burn, Baby, Burn’ atmosphere. It’s time now for coaches who sit in dens.”

Dave Scheiber of the St. Petersburg Times asked new Tampa Bay assistant coach Jimmy Raye about the classic 10-10 tie between Notre Dame and Michigan State in 1966--the one that Jim Murray labeled “Tie One for the Gipper.”

Said Raye, who quarterbacked the Spartans: “My first recollection is that it was late in November in East Lansing, Mich., and it was very, very cold. My second recollection is of Alan Page trying to decapitate me all afternoon.”

Dept. of Incidental Information: Boston Mayor Ray Flynn, who ran a personal-best 3:57 in the Boston Marathon, is a former basketball star at Providence College, where he teamed with Georgetown Coach John Thompson.

The 1962-63 Providence team, coached by Joe Mullaney, won the NIT with an 81-66 win over Canisius. Flynn scored 20 points and Thompson had 15.

From George Steinbrenner, one-time assistant football coach at Purdue: “I have not seen a good team play anytime without discipline. The Vince Lombardi teams had it. Paul Brown was a disciple of discipline. It’s the same with baseball. You take Earl Weaver; he was a disciplinarian. I’m not being critical of Yogi.”

Of course not.

Quotebook

Al McGuire, on how to determine if a player is hanging on the rim: “Electrify the rim. If a guy’s hand touched it, you leave the juice on until he turns blue.”