Wins and McMahon Go Hand in Glove

When Jim McMahon wore gloves in Chicago’s playoff games against the New York Giants and the Rams, it was thought he was trying to keep his hands warm. In truth, he was trying to get a better grip on the ball.

Apparently, he succeeded. “I even threw some spirals,” the Bear quarterback said. “I may wear them the rest of my career.”

He wasn’t just kidding. He wore them again in the Super Bowl, even though it was played indoors. If he continues to wear them next season, he could start a trend.

According to The Sporting News, McMahon was wearing the Neumann Tackified Sport Glove, a product of R. Neumann & Co. of Hoboken, N.J. The glove is a modification of the company’s golf glove. Texas A&M; Coach Jackie Sherrill, playing golf last summer, was so impressed by the glove’s gripping power that he asked the company to make some for his receivers.

Gradually, the gloves caught on with other teams, including the pros. Stephone Paige of Kansas City was wearing a pair on Dec. 22 when he set an NFL single-game receiving record of 309 yards in a game against San Diego.

One question remains to be asked, of course. If McMahon was helped by gloves, why wasn’t Ram quarterback Dieter Brock wearing some, too?

He was. Except he wore only one. On his left hand.

Trivia Time: What do Hall of Fame quarterback Otto Graham, former National League batting champion Dick Groat and ABC sports director Chet Forte have in common? (Answer below.)

If you’re playing with one of golf’s big hitters and he decides to lay up on a hole, what do you do? If you’re Glen Campbell, you go for it.

The 16th hole at Cypress Point is a 233-yard par-3 with a 204-yard carry over Monterey Bay. On Thursday, when a crosswind came up, Dan Pohl decided to take the safe route to the left, setting himself up for a chip to the green. Campbell pulled out his driver and knocked one on the green.

“Hey, I didn’t come here to lay up,” the singer told USA Today. “Heck, I can make a bogey with with my driver as well as anything. Matter of fact, I did. I three-putted.”

Said Missouri basketball Coach Norm Stewart, when asked about the ankle injury to star forward Derrick Chievous: “It’s somewhere between a sprain and death.”

Said Maryland Coach Charles G. (Don’t Call Me Lefty) Driesell, after the Terrapins lost to North Carolina by only four points Jan. 14: “If we ain’t the best 10-5 team in the country, I want to see who is better. I don’t understand why there is some teams ranked in the Top 20 with four losses and we’re not.”

Maryland has since lost four of five games. If you see Charles G., you might ask, “Is you now the best 11-9 team in the country?”

Then duck.

A reporter in Philadelphia had a theory. Since Brad Gilbert is a regular practice partner of Ivan Lendl, wouldn’t that give Gilbert an advantage when the two met in the semifinals of the U.S. Pro Indoor championships?

Explaining his theory to Gilbert, the reporter said, “You know his game.”

“Hey,” said Gilbert, “he knows my game.”

Lendl won Saturday, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2.

Trivia Answer: All three were All-American basketball players--Graham at Northwestern (1944), Groat at Duke (1952) and Forte at Columbia (1957).

Quotebook

Kansas State basketball Coach Jack Hartman, looking back on his career after announcing his retirement: “Coaching is all I’ve ever done. I’ve never had a real job.”