This Last-Ditch Effort Works

Erk Russell calls it Beautiful Eagle Creek, and it got national attention when a magazine told how Russell took its waters and sprinkled them on the playing fields before his Georgia Southern football teams won National Collegiate Athletic Assn. Division III championship games in 1985 and 1986.

In reality, Beautiful Eagle Creek is a drainage ditch that runs alongside the school’s practice field, and when several snakes were found in it this summer, they dredged it.

“It’s been awhile,” said Russell. “I hadn’t seen a Falstaff can in a long time.”

Add Southern: Said Georgia Southern defensive tackle Darren Alford after picking off a midair fumble and running 45 yards for his first touchdown: “I’m happier than a possum in a melon patch.”

Trivia Time: Glynis Nunn of Australia is the answer to what trivia question? (Answer below.)

Now-it-can-be-told Dept.: Bob Kersee told the Washington Post that wife Jackie drove him nuts with her devotion to the job when she did public relations and secretarial work for Anheuser-Busch, commuting from Long Beach to Van Nuys every day.

“She acted like she was Augustine Busch III,” he said. “That’s Jackie. She’s just that way.”

From Bill Glauber of the Baltimore Sun: “Carl Lewis set an Olympic record, becoming the first athlete of the 1988 Games to request a parking pass at the Olympic Stadium.”

Add Forgettable Quotes: From Christine Brennan of the Washington Post: “When Janet Evans’ mother threw her daughter into a pool at the age of 1, Janet Evans’ grandmother proclaimed, ‘You’re wasting your time and money because she’ll never learn how to swim.’ ”

Add Post: Ken Denlinger said the Olympic Village entrance is guarded by what looks like two 10-foot totem poles. They call it Chang-seung , and a sign says, “It is a guardian that fends off disaster and protects the peace of the village.”

Denlinger: “Just in case, the Kang Dong police station is smack-dab across the street.”

For the Record: Gary Calame of Burbank points out that Lou Nova never was a heavyweight champion, as he was identified in this space Wednesday.

Add Heavies: Said Jack Sharkey, the oldest living former heavyweight champion at 85, when asked who hit harder, Jack Dempsey or Joe Louis: “Dempsey hit harder, because Dempsey hit me $211,000 worth, while Louis only hit me $36,000 worth.”

20 Years Ago Today: On Sept. 17, 1968, Gaylord Perry of the San Francisco Giants pitched a no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals, winning, 1-0. The next day at Candlestick Park, Ray Washburn of St. Louis pitched a no-hitter to beat San Francisco, 2-0.

Trivia Answer: She was the 1984 Olympic gold medalist in the women’s heptathlon, finishing ahead of Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

Quotebook

Carolyn Waldo of Canada, on what it takes to be a winner in synchronized swimming: “You have to be physically strong, but you have to be fairly attractive and have a good body to be successful. I mean if the judges don’t want to look at you for five minutes, it doesn’t matter if you’re good.”