Kramer Putting His Money on Hornung

Former Green Bay Packers tight end Ron Kramer, speaking at a Hall of Fame Club luncheon in Canton, Ohio, was asked about Paul Hornung.

“Well,” Kramer said, “he came to the Packers with his goat shoulders and his big behind and his lack of speed, and they looked at him and had no idea what to do with him.

“Vince Lombardi arrived two years later and switched him from quarterback to running back. You know the rest of the story.

“He became a record-breaking player, probably still holds the record for most money bet on a title game.”

Tony Kornheiser of the Washington Post says Oklahoma basketball Coach Billy Tubbs “looks like the guy you find whenever the ambulance shows up.”

Add Oklahoma: Said Villanova’s Kenny Wilson, picking the Sooners to win it all: “They’re like the baby Lakers running up and down the court.”

Trivia Time: What do National Collegiate Athletic Assn. selection committee chairman Arnie Ferrin and Louisville center Pervis Ellison have in common? (Answer below.)

What-a-difference-a-day-makes dept.: In the final 19 1/2 minutes of their 97-93 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers Friday, the Boston Celtics scored 18 points. In the first 19 1/2 minutes of their 118-106 victory over New York Saturday, the Celtics scored 59 points.

Add Forgettable Quotes: Said Mike Tyson last June: “I’m never going to get married. These women are all just after my money. If I wasn’t rich and famous, they wouldn’t want no part of me, and I know it.”

He said it after a breakup with Robin Givens, who is now his wife.

Says Wallace Matthews of Newsday: “According to a good source, Tyson has signed over full power of attorney on his considerable fortune to the new Mrs. Tyson, causing a major blowup between Tyson and his co-manager, Bill Cayton. Cayton and Jim Jacobs, who died recently of pneumonia arising from a long bout with leukemia, were proud of themselves for making Tyson the wealthiest prizefighter of all time, but now there are worries whether Tyson will hold onto the money he has made, let alone the riches to come.”

Would-you-believe-it dept.: Alan Ogg of Alabama Birmingham, in a Sun Belt Conference questionnaire, listed Kurt Rambis as his favorite National Basketball Assn. player.

Trivia Answer: Ferrin (Utah 1943-44) and Ellison (Louisville 1985-86) are the only freshmen to be named MVP of the NCAA tournament.

Add Ferrin: Utah had lost to Kentucky in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament that year and figured its season was over, but when it got back to its hotel in New York, it got a call from the NCAA asking it to replace Arkansas in the West Regional. Several Arkansas players had been injured in a car wreck.

So, the Utes took a 2-day train trip to Kansas City where they knocked off Missouri and Iowa State. Then they returned to New York to beat Dartmouth, 42-40, for the NCAA title.

The Utes then gained a measure of revenge by beating NIT champion St. John’s, 43-36, in a Red Cross fund-raising game.

Quotebook

St. Louis Cardinals Manager Whitey Herzog, told that the New York Mets are 4-1 favorites to win the world championship this year: “Nobody should be 4-1 unless it’s the ’27 Yankees, and they’re too old.”