The Greatest Love of All? Don’t Expect Ditka to Know

Philadelphia Eagles Coach Buddy Ryan let some of his players, including quarterback Randall Cunningham, skip the second half of an exhibition game to go to singer Whitney Houston’s birthday party.

Vito Stellino of the Baltimore Sun quoted the reaction of Chicago Bears Coach Mike Ditka, Ryan’s former boss: “If you’re talking about guys making $100 a week, that’s one thing. If you’re making $1 million a year, that’s another. I find it hard to believe that anyone would jeopardize their earning power to go hear, who? Whitney Houston? I wouldn’t even let them (the Bears) go see Hurricane Hugo.”

Add Stellino: On the Phoenix Cardinals: “Bill Bidwill can run, but he can’t hide. In 1987, Bidwill’s last year in St. Louis, the team sold 27,000 season tickets. This year, in just the Cardinals’ second season in Phoenix, the club sold only 36,298 season tickets, a drop of almost 20,000 (from 1988).

“Bidwill blamed the heat on the sunny side of Sun Devil Stadium for the drop.”

Last add Stellino: On the Bar 4J (Jerry Jones-Jimmy Johnson) Dallas Cowboys: “Johnson is being haunted by the statements Jones made when he bought the club. Among other things, he said Johnson was worth five Heisman Trophy winners and five No. 1 draft picks. That prompted one Dallas columnist to suggest that Johnson should trade himself to help the team.”

A step below Plan B: The New York Giants’ Ottis Anderson was left unprotected in the Plan B free-agent draft and had to take a pay cut to sign again with the team. Said Anderson: “Plan B? I was Plan C. I was the only one who wanted me.”

Trivia time: What major league team finished the season with the youngest rotation?

Learning from inexperience: Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, on the organization’s championships with Vancouver (Pacific Coast League), Birmingham (Southern League) and South Bend (Midwest League): “I saw three teams and it was really exciting for the little things they were doing. You’d see the center fielder back up second on a stolen base, the left fielder back up third on a throw from right.

“A lot of games (the White Sox) played were lost on not doing those kinds of things.”

More, but not merrier: How scattershot was the New York Yankees’ personnel situation last season? Joe Donnelly of Newsday notes that 50 players wore Yankee uniforms, 49 of whom played--more than any Yankee team in history and more than any team since the Seattle Pilots tried 53 in 1969.

Staying hungry: Bill Glauber of the Baltimore Sun quotes Oakland Athletics Manager Tony La Russa on winning a second consecutive American League West championship: “The thread you find with all repeat champions is a level of comfort. You can’t get too comfortable. You have to remember what got you there in the first place. You need a little discomfort.”

Trivia answer: The Seattle Mariners, with five pitchers averaging 24.7.

Quotebook: Chicago Cubs slugger Andre Dawson, on the tactical risks taken by Manager Don Zimmer: “Suicide squeeze, safety bunt, hit-and-run, just about anything anytime. I’ve seen him hit-and-run with the bases loaded, and I’ve only seen that twice in my entire career.”