For Official, It’s a Daze to Remember

A recent item on Sonny Jurgensen and Billy Kilmer reminded former NFL official Fred Swearingen of a game in RFK Stadium involving the two quarterbacks.

Wrote Swearingen from Oceanside: “I was the referee, and Kilmer was the quarterback. He was dazed after a play--somewhere near the opponents’ 20-yard line. I called time out--charging myself--but Billy finally got to his feet and wanted to stay in. I told him it would be a Washington-charged timeout unless he went out for one play.

“The coach, George Allen, didn’t want to use a timeout, so he unwrapped Jurgensen, who was standing nearby with a big parka on. Without warming up, Sonny ran in, took one snap and--boom--touchdown!

“Now, Kilmer came back in to hold for the extra point. He looked up at me and said, ‘Damn you! I was going to call that same play.’ ”

Would-you-believe-it Dept.: One reason Don Mattingly didn’t win the American League Most Valuable Player award was the failure of the reporters who cover the Yankees to back him. According to the New York Times, one writer picked him third, and another writer, Bill Madden of the New York Daily News, named him fifth. Madden’s first four picks were Roger Clemens, Jim Rice, Doug DeCinces and Dave Righetti.

Doug DeCinces?

Add N.Y. Times: It reported that Gary Carter, who criticized the selection of Mike Schmidt as the National League MVP, had a clause in his contract that guaranteed him $300,000 if he won the award. He still got $100,000 for finishing third, the paper said.

Trivia Time: Has anybody won the National League MVP more than once for teams that failed to win either division or league titles? (Answer below.)

Times staffer Mal Florence, on an indictment that said former Memphis State basketball Coach Dana Kirk received $10,000 for interviews he gave before the 1983 Winston Holiday tournament at the Sports Arena: “They weren’t that interesting.”

Can a team win on the court with players who are winners in the classroom? UCLA has.

In the last 25 years, according to the NCAA, the Bruins have produced nine Academic All-Americans, the most of any school. Indiana and Kentucky are tied for second with eight, followed by Kansas and North Carolina with six each.

The honored Bruins: Mike Warren, Kenny Heitz, Sidney Wicks, Bill Walton, Jamaal Wilkes, Greg Lee, Ralph Drollinger, Marques Johnson and Kiki Vandeweghe.

Among current NBA players on the list, in addition to the ex-Bruins, are Danny Ainge, Mike Gminski, Randy Wittman, John and Jim Paxson, Darnell Valentine, Jack Sikma, Kyle Macy, Steve Stipanovich and Kelly Tripucka.

Today’s Question: What were the Polish players doing in the dressing room after beating USC in a basketball game the other night?

Answer: They were telling Trojan jokes.

Trivia Answer: Yes, Ernie Banks and Mike Schmidt. Banks won the award for the Chicago Cubs in 1958 and 1959. Schmidt won it in 1981 and 1986 for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Quotebook

Richard Dent of the Chicago Bears, asked if he was in Coach Mike Ditka’s doghouse: “I’m not a dog, and I have my own house.”