Some Notable Quotables From 1985

Following are some selected Quotebooks from Morning Briefings of 1985:

San Antonio forward Mike Mitchell, after hitting the key shots in a victory by the Spurs: “I like to take all the shots in the tough situations. As a matter of fact, I like to take all the shots.”

Basketball analyst Al McGuire, disagreeing with an official’s call: “But I’ve been wrong before. I thought Mickey Rooney would be a bachelor.”

Thomas Thompson, negotiator for owner John Mecom of the New Orleans Saints on the frustrations of dealing with prospective buyer A.N. Pritzker of Chicago: “It’s like trying to nail jelly to a tree.”

Basketball Coach Don Donoher of the University of Dayton, asked if he had tried to manipulate the officials: “I don’t know much about psychology. Then again, I don’t know much about coaching.”

Oklahoma basketball Coach Billy Tubbs, asked if he had a theory on why the Sooners were the only team west of Dallas remaining in the final 16 of the NCAA playoffs: “Everybody else got beat. Is that a theory?”

Announcer Tim McCarver, on being contacted by the St. Louis Cardinals before they hired Dal Maxvill as general manager: “We had a preliminary discussion. Just like I had a preliminary discussion about the Expos’ managing job and a preliminary discussion with ABC. Preliminary discussions are my forte.”

Seattle Mariner catcher Bob Kearney: “I know some people think I’m stupid, but my parents didn’t raise no dummies. Hey, there are different kinds of intelligence. Albert Einstein was bad in English. Of course, Einstein was German.”

Cleveland reliever Jamie Easterly, to Manager Pat Corrales after having been treated for a rash: “The doctor told me I can’t run for the rest of the season. And I can drink only Chivas Regal.”

Boston Celtic Coach K.C. Jones, on why he doesn’t dwell on statistics: “Bill Russell’s father once told me he saw a guy drown in water that averaged three feet deep. What does that tell you about stats?”

General Manager Pat Williams of the Philadelphia 76ers, on 275-pound rookie Charles Barkley: “For his 12th birthday his parents got him a Shetland pony. He carried it out back and barbecued it.”

Sandy Koufax, told that Dwight Gooden has had a problem in holding runners on base: “He also has a great ability in keeping runners off base.”

General Manager Stan Kasten of the Atlanta Hawks on signing Dancing Barry for an appearance at the Omni: “Baryshnikov was booked, so we went with Barry.”

Coach Bum Phillips of the New Orleans Saints, asked if the holdout of linebacker Dennis Winston was over money: “We don’t supply women, so it must be money.”

Hall of Fame pitcher Warren Spahn, who pitched for Casey Stengel on the 1942 Boston Braves and 1965 New York Mets: “I’m probably the only guy who worked for Stengel before and after he became a genius.”