Here’s One 6-10 Center Who Has Own Answers

Ask an athlete his favorite food and he might say pizza. His favorite movie might be “Casablanca” and his favorite actor John Wayne. You learn this by reading his player profile in a media guide.

It’s usually pretty standard stuff, but not at Mount St. Mary’s College in Maryland where 6-10 center Mike Grimes gave these answers:

Ambition: “To revive the ailing PTL ministry.”

Hobbies: “Reading cheap, sleazy romance novels and finger painting.”

Athlete I Most Admire: “King Kong Bundy.”

Favorite Food: “Wax lips.”

Favorite TV Show: “Old ‘Hazel’ re-runs.”

How I Spent Last Summer: “Toured with Twisted Sister, worked as a paper shredder for the National Security Council.”

Trivia Time: Who beat Edwin Moses last summer in Spain to end his 122-race winning streak in the 400-meter hurdles? (Answer below.)

Now-it-can-be-told Dept.: San Francisco receiver Jerry Rice told Tom Fitzgerald of the Sporting News that the only time he was really intimidated was the first time he faced the Raiders.

“For some reason,” said Rice, “this guy was sticking his tongue out at me.”

That, of course, would be Lester Hayes.

Rice: “The thing about Lester is he’s going to try to get his hands on your face mask. If he can get his hands there, he’s got control of you. He was mumbling some stuff. It was not English, I know that.”

Add Rice: The Sporting News says, “His height of 6-2 gives him an edge over practically every defensive back and his leaping ability is stunning. Teammates still marvel about the off-season basketball game in which he dunked the ball over a seven-foot opponent. His hands are large enough to palm a beach ball and softer than a baby’s tummy.”

Add 49ers: Said linebacker Riki Ellison of the surgery on his broken arm, which entailed the grafting of a piece of hipbone and the insertion of a five-inch steel plate which was secured by six screws: “My X-ray looks like I’ve got a hardware store in there.”

From Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post in Miami: “Oklahoma’s familiarity with bowl games and national championships is such that by now the top-ranked Sooners are unafraid to break the most solemn rules and curfews. They have romped through Hialeah, danced with prom queens in Coconut Grove and occupied permanent tables at Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami Beach. They frequent a spot called the Surrey Pub so often that it is decorated year-round with Oklahoma pennants.

“Coach Barry Switzer calls the Fountainbleu Hotel ‘our winter home.’ ”

Add Sooners: Said tackle Jon Phillips of Friday night’s showdown with Miami: “We have a lot of respect for them, but I’ll tell you what--we want to kill them.”

Trivia Answer: Danny Harris.

Quotebook

Matt Guokas, Philadelphia 76ers coach, asked how he rated Charles Barkley: “I agree with Charles when he says he’s one of the best.”