Mora Finds an Unofficial Way to Rate the Merits of Officials

No one ever accused New Orleans Saint Coach Jim Mora of being wound too loosely.

Mora, who berated the media for what he called their ignorance earlier this season, might have topped that performance at his weekly news conference Monday.

“I’ll comment on the officiating this way from now on,” Mora said as he ripped the head off a doll dressed as a referee.

He then pulled off its arms and legs and threw them on the floor.

“And if they do a good job . . .” Mora said, putting the doll together and patting it on the head. “I’ll probably get fined for this,” he said.

What was your first clue, Jim?

Trivia time: The Minnesota and Michigan football teams play for the Little Brown Jug. Which teams play for the Little Brown Stein?

First things first: This business about the major leagues banning labels on baseball bats brings to mind the time during the 1957 New York-Milwaukee World Series when Yankee catcher Yogi Berra noticed how the Braves’ Hank Aaron was holding the bat.

“Turn it around, so you can see the trademark,” Berra told him.

Aaron never even looked back at him.

“Didn’t come up here to read, came up here to hit,” Aaron said.

When life is a lemon: Miami Dolphin punter Reggie Roby, who earns $200,000 a year, sells used cars three nights a week.

Why? Roby has financial problems. The mortgage on his home was foreclosed this summer. He underwent a costly divorce. A bank is suing him for unpaid loans.

His latest moonlighting was a step up, however. He had been a security guard for TBS wrestling.

One from the heart: The Eastern Bloc has provided more than its fair share of tennis stars. The turmoil in Czechoslovakia prompted varying reactions from two female players:

Helen Kelesi, whose parents emigrated to Canada before she was born, told of sending Christmas packages to relatives in Czechoslovakia. “We send toothpaste, deodorant, diapers,” she said. “You can’t believe the stuff they don’t have.”

A colder comment came from Helena Sukova. Said Sukova of the current unrest: “It doesn’t matter to me. I can come and go any time I want.”

Which is it? First, Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz said he was having trouble sleeping because of the pressure of coaching a team with a 23-game winning streak. Said Holtz Tuesday: “We are a tired team. It’s been a long year.”

Trivia answer: Idaho and Montana.

Quotebook: Martina Navratilova, on why she left Czechoslovakia: “I wanted to be the number one tennis player in the world. I didn’t know how big the world was.”