NFL’s Team of the Decade? The 49ers Win Going Away

The NFL’s team of the ‘80s? There is no question about it, according to Vito Stellino of the Baltimore Sun:

“There is no need for a recount. The San Francisco 49ers are the team of the 1980s, joining the Green Bay Packers, the team of the 1960s, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team of the 1970s, and the Cleveland Browns, who went to 10 straight championship games from 1946 to 1955 in the All-America Conference and the NFL, as one of the four best teams of the modern post-World War II era.

“The Washington Redskins had hoped to tie the 49ers with their three Super Bowls in the final year of this decade so they could argue the point, but their collapse ended that chance.

“The Los Angeles Raiders still have a shot at a third Super Bowl in this decade, but a team that was 7-9, 5-10 and 8-8 the last three years would have difficulty claiming it’s the team of the decade. Of course, Al Davis, the Raiders’ owner, says it is the team of all the decades.”

Add NFL: From John Clayton of McClatchy News Service: “Cowboy halfback Paul Palmer has been more effective than former Cowboy halfback Herschel Walker since the big trade to the Minnesota Vikings. Palmer has been averaging 80 yards a game. In Minnesota, the Vikings don’t use Walker inside the 10 because Coach Jerry Burns said he is an I-back and that Alfred Anderson and Rick Fenner are better for the trap runs used in those situations. Fantasy football fans must love that.”

Trivia time: Who led the NBA in dunks last season?

Running in his footsteps: Said the Cleveland Browns’ Eric Metcalf, son of Cal State Long Beach product and former NFL great Terry Metcalf: “I always wanted to be pretty much exactly like my dad. Now it just so happens that I turned out that way.”

A ring of truth: Boxing promoter Bob Arum in Sport magazine: “Right now, I don’t see anybody out there who can give (Mike) Tyson a fight. The best big athletes all seem to be playing football.”

Medium well: UCLA basketball Coach Jim Harrick was surprised when reporters had almost no questions to ask of him after the Bruins’ intra-squad game.

“Let’s all join hands and try to contact the living,” Harrick said.

Trivia answer: Charles Barkley of the Philadelphia 76ers with 164.

Quotebook: New Mexico’s Terance Mathis, after becoming the first receiver in NCAA history to pass the 4,000-yard mark, during a 41-39 loss to Utah Saturday: “It’s the same old thing. We play hard, we play close, and we lose.”