Mike Tyson Gets Head Start on Hospital Food

Mike Tyson lost consciousness but not his appetite.

Camille Ewald, outside whose home the heavyweight champion crashed his car Sunday, said that while they waited for the ambulance he devoured a meal of fried rice and beef with broccoli.

Said Steve Lott, one of the champion’s handlers, making light of the whole affair: “He’s been through worse things than this as a kid. The fight is on, Mike will be fine. There’s a reason they call him Iron Mike.”

Add Tyson: From the Associated Press, recounting Tyson’s misadventures behind the wheel: “Six months ago, when Tyson’s Bentley sideswiped a parked car near the Manhattan entrance to the Holland Tunnel, he told police he was distracted by an argument he was having with his wife, Robin Givens. And last month Tyson and Givens ran out of gas on Fifth Avenue. Bystanders helped them push the car to the curb.”

The Philadelphia Eagles, after routing Tampa Bay in their opener, now go against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bengals at times are employing a no-huddle offense, but Eagles Coach Buddy Ryan didn’t seem concerned.

“You see a lot of junior high school teams do that in Texas,” he sniffed.

Wait a Minute: Said Tony Kornheiser of the Washington Post last week in analyzing the Redskin quarterback controversy: “Time and again it’s been demonstrated that alternating quarterbacks doesn’t work.”

How about last year? The Washington Redskins won it all last season employing two quarterbacks. They were Jay Schroeder and Doug Williams.

The Rams won their only NFL title in Los Angeles in 1951 when they alternated Bob Waterfield and Norm Van Brocklin at quarterback.

Kicker Pat Leahy, the only remaining member of the New York Jets who played with Joe Namath, explains his longevity: “I’ve been lucky. I’ve had coaches who don’t try to tell me how to kick.”

Add Leahy: Recalling Lou Holtz’s arrival at New York as head coach in 1976, he told the New York Times: “I remember Lou looking around the locker room in training camp and telling us, ‘Men, we’re going to the Super Bowl this year,’ and I said to myself, ‘Not with these guys we’re not.’ But that year Lou started the clean-out and that has to be done every once in a while.”

Trivia Time: On this date in 1976, in a game against San Diego, how did Steve Yeager of the Dodgers suffer a freak injury that could have proved fatal? (Answer below.)

Just Asking: Has the Big Ten ever suffered a more embarrassing weekend in football than the last one?

Opening opponents were Duke, Western Michigan, Washington State and Hawaii, and the Big Ten managed to go 0-4. The losers, in order, were Northwestern, Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa.

Gold Standard: From the New York Times: “Among the athletes who do not plan to live in the village during the Olympic Games are Carl Lewis and Edwin Moses. They have rooms reserved for them at a new luxury hotel in Seoul.”

Trivia Answer: He was struck in the neck by the loose end of a broken bat while waiting in the on-deck circle. Bill Russell’s bat had shattered and a piece caught Yeager. The Dodgers won the game, 4-1.

Quotebook

Bob Verdi of the Chicago Tribune, recalling the putting miseries of Orville Moody on the PGA Tour: “Watching him stand over a 10-footer was to watch a man condemned to a root canal without anesthetic.”