The Day That Lester Hayes Fell Silent

Lionel Manuel, the wide receiver who scored both touchdowns for the New York Giants in their 14-9 win over the Raiders Sunday, told the New York Times that his only regret is that he didn’t have a chance to talk to Lester Hayes afterward.

“I really wanted to, because I was a Raiders fan most of my life,” said Manuel, a University of Pacific product who prepped at Bassett High School in La Puente. “It would have been nice to go against him in his younger years because it’s his 10th year and he’s slowed down a little bit. Now he’s using his experience.

“He’ll go out there and holler and shake his arms and stomp his feet and that will scare a rookie coming in. They tell you, don’t worry about it, but you can’t help it ‘cause he’s right in front of your face. But I was prepared, and if he wanted to get physical, I was ready for that , too.”

Manuel said Hayes had plenty to say early in the game.

“He kept talking and joking with me, saying all kinds of things,” said Manuel. “He was talking about the plays we were running, and when I tried to run him off, he was talking to me about me running him off. Just little chit chat nonstop.”

It didn’t last.

“After I scored the first touchdown,” said Manuel, “Lester was quiet.”

Said Oklahoma linebacker Brian Bosworth when asked how he compared Saturday’s battle with Miami for No. 1 with the annual battle against Texas: “I don’t feel exactly the same about Miami as I do about Texas. I kind of hate everything that has to do with the University of Texas, and I just hate Miami’s football program.”

Ugh Dept.: Said Atlanta Braves announcer Skip Caray during a game on WTBS when Albert Hall stepped to the plate: “I got a letter from a woman suggesting that Hall be traded to Kansas City, so he could be Royal Albert Hall.”

Trivia Time: Who was the first player to congratulate Pete Rose last year after he got his 4,192nd hit to break Ty Cobb’s record? (Answer below.)

Now-it-can-be-told dept.: Reggie Jackson, still feeling unappreciated by Angel management, told Tony Kornheiser of The Washington Post that after his third homer last Thursday night, he had this fantasy: “I thought about quitting right then and there. I thought about touching home plate, then running right up the tunnel, going out into the parking lot, getting into the car with my uniform still on. Walking out. Take that, I’m gone.”

Would-you-believe-it dept.: There were four football games scheduled this season between the Pacific 10 and the Southwest Conference, and the Pac-10 has won all four. The winners were Arizona over Houston, 37-3; Arizona State over SMU, 30-0; Stanford over Texas, 31-20, and USC over Baylor, 17-14.

Trivia Answer: First baseman Steve Garvey of the San Diego Padres.

Quotebook

Joe Garagiola, after going out to dinner with the manager of the Dodgers: “Having dinner with Tommy Lasorda is like pitching a game in the big leagues. Afterwards you need three days’ rest.”