The Coach Was Also Known as ‘Mr. Warden’

Even before Florence Griffith-Joyner dropped Bob Kersee as her coach and replaced him with husband, Al Joyner, Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Press wrote a story that indicated the relationship was strained.

Said Cook: “Griffith-Joyner didn’t realize how meticulous Kersee was until she and her husband temporarily moved into the home of the coach and his wife, Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Every Saturday at 8 a.m., Kersee would wake everyone to clean house. Then he would give it the white-glove test to make sure they did the job.”

Cook quoted Al Joyner as saying: “We called him and Jackie Mr. and Mrs. Warden. It was like living in a prison. I knew I had to get us out of there.”

Trivia Time: What athlete was a member of both summer and winter Olympic teams and didn’t compete either time? (Answer below.)

An Oklahoma boys’ soccer team bound for a tour of Brazil got bumped from a flight in Miami and had to wait two days before finally taking off.

The players were relieved when word came that Pan American had arranged a special flight, but some were worried about what they might have already missed.

Such as?

“Naked topless women at the beaches,” Eric Cummins said.

Cummins is 14.

From Vito Stellino of the Baltimore Sun: “The New Orleans Saints decided to move their training camp to LaCrosse, Wis., to get away from the heat and humidity of Louisiana.

“They arrived in Wisconsin to find 100-degree temperatures and wound up buying 125 room air conditioners for the players’ rooms at a cost of $25,000.”

Here’s what a few of the National Football League players did to keep occupied during the summer:

Reggie Williams, Cincinnati Bengals linebacker--Served as a Cincinnati city councilman.

Terry Long, Pittsburgh Steelers guard--Drove a school bus and sold peanuts.

Ray Bentley, Buffalo Bills linebacker--Wrote a series of children’s books featuring a character named Darby the Dinosaur.

Maurice Douglass, Chicago Bears safety--Performed as a male stripper in Cincinnati nightclubs.

Mike Tice, Seattle Seahawks tight end--Operated two Fill-Yer-Belly Delis.

Would-you-believe-it Dept.: Victor Kiam II, new owner of the New England Patriots who pitches his own Remington shavers on TV and expects his company to take in $375 million for the fiscal year, drives a 1976 Cadillac Fleetwood with 243,000 miles on it.

Wilber Marshall of the Washington Redskins, on Mike Ditka, his former coach at Chicago:

“I never talked to him. He was busy fighting with Jim McMahon. Those guys fight with each other all the time. It was just typical. Let’s keep the reporters all going. Let’s give them something to write about. Let’s talk about the Fridge. One day the Fridge isn’t worth anything. The next minute, he’s my man. He’s my starter. He’s changing directions every five minutes. He’s just giving the reporters something to bite on.”

Add Marshall: He told Washington reporters he wasn’t Superman. When this was relayed to Joe Gibbs, the coach said, “We’ll settle for Batman.”

Trivia Answer: Willie Gault. He made the team in 1980 as a sprinter, but the United States pulled out of the Moscow Games. He was an alternate on the bobsled team at Calgary in 1988 but never competed.

Quotebook

Atlanta Braves infielder Jim Morrison, on his scoreless pitching stint against the San Francisco Giants as an emergency reliever: “Basically, I had things on my side, because I know how stupid hitters are.”