Ratings Game: Green Is the Winning Color

When Notre Dame beat USC, it virtually assured NBC a ratings victory over ABC on Jan. 2. While NBC is carrying Notre Dame vs. West Virginia for the national championship in the Fiesta Bowl, ABC will be showing USC vs. Michigan in the Rose Bowl.

Said NBC Sports producer Michael Weisman, who watched the Trojan-Irish game on television: “I sat in front of the TV set pretty much dressed in green, which is pretty unusual for a Jewish kid from New York. You could have called me Michael O’Weisman.”

Add Irish: How tough is Lou Holtz on his players in practice? He told the Sporting News, “If I was murdered as soon as practice is over, there would be so many suspects among the players that they wouldn’t even begin to investigate.”

Add Holtz: Of his 5-6 record in 1986, he said, “My first year at Notre Dame we had 1,804 freshmen. Of those, 1,798 came back as sophomores. Three dropped out, three flunked out. We were the only school in the country that lost as many football games as students.”

Trivia Time: Who is the only coach to reach the NFL playoffs with three different franchises? (Answer to follow.)

Wrote Jerry Greene of the Orlando Sentinel, when the Ram media guide came out late this season: “Rumor has it that owner Georgia Frontiere had it pulled off the press so that about 100 years could be air-brushed off her photo.”

In Baltimore last season, they were wondering if Eddie Murray was washed up when, after the first one-third of the season, he was batting .238 with only 4 home runs. After that, he hit .306 with 24 homers. He wound up at .284 with 28 homers.

From Phil Jackman of the Baltimore Evening Sun: “After the touring Yugoslavian nationals belted Georgetown, and while Hoya Coach John Thompson hauled his guys off for a week in Hawaii, the Yugos hustled up to Boston and got hammered by Boston College, 82-68. Dana Barros, one of the guys Thompson didn’t want for his Olympic team, which played without a point guard, canned 34.”

Would-you-believe-it Dept.: Rookie tight end Keith Jackson, who caught 61 passes in 4 years at Oklahoma, already has caught 71 this season for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Jackson’s dream of catching a lot of passes at Oklahoma was shattered when quarterback Troy Aikman got hurt, forcing Barry Switzer to return to the wishbone.

“Every day was 2 hours of block, block, block,” Jackson said. “I was little more than a tackle eligible.”

The money won by Mark Calcavecchia in the $600,000 Kapalua Open doesn’t count in the standings because the tournament is not on the PGA Tour schedule.

Said Calcavecchia: “It’s not official, but the grocery store doesn’t ask you if it’s official.”

Low Blow Dept.: The Boston Globe ran a list of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s skimpy game-by-game statistics under this heading: “Willie Mays 1973?”

Trivia Answer: Chuck Knox, with the Rams, Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks.

Quotebook

Tight end Marv Cook of the University of Iowa on the Hawkeyes’ 3 ties this season: “I just wish I had a good-looking sister.”