At 7-7, He Will Have a Chance

The Lakers meet the Washington Bullets Saturday night at Landover, Md., and the big question is this: Can 7-7 Manute Bol block the sky hook of 7-2 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?

“Some of the fellas got money on it,” Bullet guard Frank Johnson said.

Johnson didn’t say who was betting on whom but said, “If he did it, the place would erupt, wouldn’t it?”

Bullet guard Gus Williams said: “He can block anyone’s shot, but consistency is the key. He’s gotta get them consistently.”

Looking for a nonpartisan opinion, Ken Denlinger of the Washington Post asked Utah’s Thurl Bailey what he thought of Bol’s chances.

“He might get a piece of one,” Bailey said, “after the first five go in.”

Just Asking: If the Rams checked the record, would they still want the home-field advantage in the playoffs against the Dallas Cowboys?

They’ve played Dallas twice here in playoffs, losing 37-7 in 1975 and 28-0 in 1978. In five playoff games against the Cowboys at Dallas, they’ve won three, including a 24-17 victory in 1983.

Trivia Time: What are the first names of Red Grange, Red Auerbach and Red Schoendienst? (Answers below.)

Here’s the lament of Rob Muzzio, two-time NCAA decathlon champion from George Mason: “You know, in Trivial Pursuit there’s a question that asks how many events there are in the decathlon. It’s ridiculous, and people get it wrong . I’m doing something that people don’t even know about.”

Frank Luksa, in the Dallas Cowboys Weekly, tells the one about a teammate accompanying Bobby Layne to court, where the quarterback’s lawyer pleaded that there was a misunderstanding with the police because of Layne’s Texas drawl and the fact that he had a case of laryngitis.

“What,” said the teammate, “a whole case!”

Add Forgettable Quotes: Bob Nold of the Akron Beacon Journal, summing up the University of Akron’s football season under Jim Dennison, wrote on Dec. 7: “It was a good year. After being picked sixth, they tied for second in the Ohio Valley Conference, finished 10th nationally in the final poll and made it to the NCAA playoffs. They finished 8-4, and the losses were to teams that own a combined record of 40-5.”

Dennison shortly was pushed into the position of associate athletic director, making way for Gerry Faust.

Dallas quarterback Danny White said team physician Dr. Marvin Knight told him his assortment of injuries were similar to the ones Don Meredith used to suffer.

The reason?

“Dr. Knight said neither one of us backpedal fast enough,” White said.

Auburn Coach Pat Dye, on Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson: “I never saw him play a high school game except on film. The game I watched, he gained 200-something yards. But the most impressive thing was leading one of his teammates down the sideline. He blocked three guys on one play--just made an accordion out of all three of them. They guy just walked in and scored.”

Trivia Answer: Harold Grange, Arnold Auerbach, Albert Schoendienst.

Quotebook

Terry Tyler of the Detroit Pistons, after seeing 7-7 Manute Bol of the Washington Bullets for the first time: “That’s a long human being.”