He Had a Way About Him--His Way or the Highway

In San Francisco, a number of 49ers have put the knock on former coach Bill Walsh for his austere and autocratic ways, but Roger Craig is not among them.

Craig told the New York Times: “Bill had a great presence, great charisma. He would walk into the locker room, and the whole atmosphere would change. He had that glow about him, the glow of a champion.

“He’d be so prepared that he’d work on a game plan and pretty much have it ready two or three weeks before the game. There were games where he’d walk up to me before kickoff and say, ‘We need 100 yards from you today,’ and that was it. I’d bust my tail even harder to get it.” Going for the green: From Richard Justice of the Washington Post: “Pete Rose, whose legal fees are thought to be running well over $1 million, was paid $75,000 per night for those two appearances on that Minneapolis shopping cable network last week. The station is believed to have sold about $600,000 of Rose memorabilia.”

Mr. Good Guy: Don Mattingly of the New York Yankees told Michael Kay of the New York Daily News why he doesn’t do card shows: “This guy is working all week and he brings his son to this show, has to pay $2 to get in, maybe $5 for a picture, and then $6 for an autograph. These guys have to think you’re a real ass, with your head down all the time signing. I can see why players do these shows, but in my opinion it makes the player look bad.”

Trivia time: A Chicago columnist, claiming the Bears are doomed with two Big Ten quarterbacks, Mike Tomczak (Ohio State) and Jim Harbaugh (Michigan), asked: “When’s the last time someone’s gone to the Super Bowl with two Big Ten quarterbacks?” What’s the answer? (Answer below.)

Bombs away: From Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe: “The last time San Francisco was in Chicago, a man who was there saw the Giants’ Kevin Mitchell hit six consecutive batting practice pitches out of Wrigley Field and onto Waveland Avenue.”

The survivor: Says 34-year-old New England fullback Mosi Tatupu, who blocked for Anthony Davis and Charles White at USC: “They were first-round picks. Now they’re out of football and I’m still here.”

Ouch: San Jose columnist Mark Purdy, on the proposed site for a new ballpark in San Francisco: “It’s the real estate equivalent of a clogged toilet.”

Dallas face-lift: Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post, on the new Dallas Cowboys: “There has been progress already. The Cowboys were always viewed as a progressive, almost futuristic organization. But in truth the scouting department had fallen so far behind that one man (the fired Gil Brandt) was doing the work that most clubs had three men doing (college scouting, pro scouting, negotiating player contracts).”

Does it all: From the Atlanta Journal: “Randall Cunningham of the Philadelphia Eagles, arguably the NFL’s finest quarterback, branched out a bit at practice last week by kicking a 48-yard field goal.”

Trivia answer: The Miami Dolphins of 1972 and 1973 were Super Bowl winners with Bob Griese (Purdue) and Earl Morrall (Michigan State) at quarterback.

Quotebook: Tom Paciorek, Chicago White Sox announcer, asked his definition of boredom: “Having to listen to someone talking about themselves when when I want to talk about me.”