For UCLA, Rose Bowl on Display

If USC wins Saturday, there will be a rearrangement of merchandise in the UCLA student store.

Already on display at the store are items displaying a 1988 Rose Bowl logo. The items include sweat shirts, regular shirts, caps and coffee mugs.

A flyer says, “Show your Bruin colors at the Rose Bowl. Cheer the Bruins on to a 1988 Rose Bowl victory.”

Nebraska tailback Keith Jones hopes teammates Tyreese Knox and Willie Griffin are more alert against Oklahoma than they were Sunday night when they bought what they were told were VCRs for $60 apiece.

When they got home and opened the box, they found a couple of bricks inside.

“You’d think a couple of guys from California would look at the merchandise before taking it home,” Jones said.

Knox, a tailback, is from Daly City. Griffin, a defensive tackle, is from Monrovia.

Add ‘Huskers: Says tight end Tom Banderas: “Everybody’s trying to make it a big game. I don’t feel like it’s a big game, and neither do my teammates. We felt all year long we could win the national championship and we’ve proved it up to this point. This is just one more step and it’s no more important than Utah State was for us. We need to win it.”

Speak for yourself, Tom.

Says defensive end Broderick Thomas: “This is something I’ve been waiting on for a year. I’ve been boiling. Every time someone brings it up, I begin to sweat.”

Trivia Time: In the USC-UCLA football series, who is the only individual to win as a player, a head coach and an athletic director? (Answer below.)

Just Asking: Has any school ever had more quarterbacks playing in the NFL in one season than UCLA?

When Tom Ramsey came off the bench to play for New England last Sunday, he was the seventh ex-Bruin to play this year. The others are Jay Schroeder (Washington), Bernard Quarles (Rams), Matt Stevens (Kansas City), Steve Bono (Pittsburgh), Rick Neuheisel (San Diego) and David Norrie (N.Y. Jets).

Oops Dept.: Ed Coleman, assistant pro at Rancho Park, called to say that Morning Briefing erred badly Wednesday by calling Byron (Whizzer) White the youngest to be named to the U.S. Supreme Court at 44.

“There have been 11 who were younger, including the first Chief Justice, John Jay,” Coleman said. “The youngest was Joseph Story of Massachusetts, who was 32 when he was named in 1811.”

From Brian Burke, director of operations for the struggling Vancouver Canucks: “The situation we’re in reminds me of what Lou Vairo said a few years ago in New Jersey: ‘I can see a light at the end of the tunnel, but the tunnel goes to Europe.’ ”

George Bell is the Most Valuable Player, but Dwight Evans has the most valuable agent in the American League. Bell received a bonus of $50,000. Evans, who finished fourth in the voting, received $100,000. A clause in his contract guaranteed him that much if he finished anywhere from second to fifth.

Trivia Answer: Jess Hill. As a running back, he scored two touchdowns in USC’s 76-0 win in 1929. As head coach, he won, 14-12, in 1952 and, 10-7, in 1956. With Hill as athletic director, USC won seven times with John McKay as coach.

Quotebook

Philadelphia Eagles Coach Buddy Ryan, on Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals: “That guy (Charles White) from Los Angeles gained 200 yards against them himself, so we should be able to run for 400.”