This Jolly Fellow Was Not St. Nick

When a brawl threatened to break out during Saturday’s basketball game between Georgetown and DePaul, Hoya Coach John Thompson, all 6-feet-10 and 300 pounds of him, lumbered onto the floor to restore peace.

It looked serious, but Thompson downplayed the whole affair.

“There weren’t any punches thrown,” he said. “There was just a lot of fussin’.”

And what did he say?

“I just wished everybody a Merry Christmas,” he said.

Add Georgetown: Said DePaul Coach Joey Meyer of the Hoyas who put the Blue Demons away with a second-half blitz: “They’re like vampires. They saw the blood, and when that happens they come at you. Boy, do they come at you.”

Trivia Time: Name the only coach who has coached Heisman Trophy winners at two different schools. (Answer below.)

For What It’s Worth: Kansas City’s Stephone Paige, who set a single-game receiving record with 309 yards against the San Diego Chargers Sunday, was a reserve behind Henry Ellard at Fresno State. He also was a backup at Long Beach Poly, which has a tradition of turning out outstanding receivers. Others include Earl McCullouch, Gene Washington and Tony Hill.

Add Record: Jim Benton, who held the old record of 303 yards, was the prime target of Bob Waterfield when the Cleveland Rams won the NFL title in 1945, the year before they moved to Los Angeles.

In the 15-14 win over the Washington Redskins for the title, Benton caught a 37-yard touchdown pass from Waterfield. The difference in the game was a safety against the Redskins when Sammy Baugh tried to throw out of his end zone in windswept Cleveland Stadium and hit the goal post.

From CBS announcer Verne Lundquist, calling John Robinson one of his favorite coaches to interview: “He’s a gregarious bear of a man with a huge, warm personality. A scheduled 15-minute conversation with John can easily expand into a one-hour visit. And, the visit will be filled with anecdotes about his players as well as specifics about what he has in mind about the upcoming contest. If he has dogs on his team, he not only lets you know who they are, but how loud they bark.”

When Michigan State sophomore running back Lorenzo White, the nation’s leading rusher, was being recruited by the Spartans, one of their coaches told White’s mother that Lorenzo would be in good hands.

“Our team eats lots of steak,” he said.

“But Lorenzo doesn’t like steak,” she said. “What does he like?”

“Chocolate cake.”

Trivia Answer: Tommy Prothro. He coached Terry Baker at Oregon State in 1962 and Gary Beban at UCLA in 1967.

Quotebook

Tony Kornheiser of the Washington Post, hearing that the Pittsburgh Steelers would be playing for pride Saturday against the New York Giants: “Never bet a team playing for pride against a team playing for cash.”