Price of Fame Is Fleeting, Ask Trevino

He’s bigger than ever after that hole-in-one in the Skins Game, but Lee Trevino knows that fame can be fleeting.

He tells this one: “A woman had me autograph a $5 bill once and told me she would keep it the rest of her life.

“A half-hour later, I bought some drinks with a $20 bill. When the change came back, the $5 was in it.”

Said Frank Gansz, coach of the Kansas City Chiefs (2-10), when asked what the team would put in their highlight film for the season: “You got me.”

Said Darryl Rogers, coach of the Detroit Lions (2-10), when asked about Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay: “It’s important to do well against Vinny Testaverde. He’s going to be the quarterback against us twice a year for many years to come.”

Us?

Trivia Time: What do actor Alex Karras, USC Athletic Director Mike McGee and announcer Merlin Olsen have in common? (Answer to follow.)

Wyoming basketball Coach Benny Dees, asked if the folks in Laramie were expecting too much of his Cowboys this season, told Sports Illustrated: “One thing Cowboy fans are is fair. I mean, if we win the WAC, win the national championship, beat the Celtics for the for the NBA title and play the Russians tough in the Olympics for the gold medal, then most people here will say we’ve had a good season. Most, not all.”

Dave Parker, after being traded by Cincinnati to Oakland, predicted that the Reds would finish fourth or fifth in the National League West.

“They want Sak’s Fifth Avenue performance out of K mart talent, and they aren’t going to get it,” he said.

Touche: Said New Orleans AP reporter Austin Wilson to Dallas AP reporter Denne Freeman: “It must be tough covering a losing team.”

The Saints have assured themselves a winning season for the first time in 21 years. The Cowboys had their 21-year streak of non-losing seasons snapped in 1986.

Remember that sea gull that was let loose during the Raiders-Seahawks game at the Kingdome and then refused to leave because it was enjoying the good life, with all the leftover popcorn and peanuts it could eat?

Eight days later, it was finally released after John Kane, 30, an out-of-work woodworker, captured it with a snare attached to a fishing pole.

“I figured it was the last chance to save it before the Pink Floyd concert,” said Kane. “If the bird was still in there, the noise or the smoke or people throwing things at him would probably kill it.”

The bird did not leave without a name. Kingdome workers nicknamed it Larry.

From Larry Holmes, talking about his wealth: “They try to turn it into a negative because I own my own hotel, restaurant, office building, parking lot and training center. Black athletes aren’t supposed to do that.

“But I don’t want to read about Tony Dorsett owing money in back taxes, I don’t want to read about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar being broke, I don’t want to read about Aaron Pryor on drugs. I want to read positive things about black athletes.”

Trivia Answer: All three were college tackles who won the Outland Trophy--Karras (Iowa) 1957, McGee (Duke) 1959, Olsen (Utah State) 1961.

Quotebook

Oklahoma tight end Keith Jackson: “Being a pass-catcher at Oklahoma is like trying to make a living as a solo cellist.”