He Knows Exactly How Tough Things Are in That Town

Is there a tougher place to coach college football than Columbus, Ohio? Former Ohio State coach Earle Bruce doesn’t think so.

Bruce said: “Columbus is a tough place to coach. I know. I played for Woody Hayes. I coached with him.

“All I heard the first three years he was there is, ‘He ought to be fired.’ In 1966, he was hanged in effigy.

“I saw how Woody Hayes was treated pretty bad. That’s one advantage I had being in Ohio. I saw that. I knew that was going to happen.

“Does that happen in Michigan? He’s (Bo Schembechler) never won a national title in Michigan. But that’s the way it is in Columbus.”

Hayes had a 205-61-10 record in 28 years at Ohio State. Bruce, now coach at Colorado State, was 81-26-1 in nine seasons with the Buckeyes.

Trivia time: Who was awarded the Heisman Trophy on Dec. 3, 1979?

Sign of the times: The idea of putting a cash bounty on injuries to NFL personnel, allegedly an incentive used by Philadelphia Eagle Coach Buddy Ryan, seems to be catching on. A sign at Sun Devil Stadium in Phoenix, where the Cardinals lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday, typified dissatisfaction with owner Bill Bidwill: “Buddy, Bounty on Bidwill.”

Add Bidwill: St. Louis Mayor Vincent Schoemehl, who was criticized two years ago for not doing more to keep the football Cardinals in town, on the team’s flop in Phoenix: “My worst nightmare is that we’ll get this new stadium built and Bidwill will want to move the team back to St. Louis.”

It’s called a rut: Steve Largent of the Seattle Seahawks on why his team is 4-8: “For the longest time, people have said what the Seattle Seahawks need to do is play consistently. We’re playing consistently.”

Coach with appeal: Ron Meyer, coach of the Indianapolis Colts, on working for owner Bob Irsay: “My owner doesn’t want green bananas. He wants results now.”

He’s at least half right: Reserve center Greg Kite of the Sacramento Kings on his previous team, the Clippers: “You never know, but in five or six years, the Clippers might be on top. Magic Johnson is the key to the Lakers, but when he retires, things can change. The Clippers are due for some luck.”

Trivia answer: Charles White of USC.

Off on wrong foot: Red Auerbach, Boston Celtic president, on why Celtic rookie guard Charles Smith of Georgetown made a bad impression on many scouts: “Someone gave him bad advice. He went to these camps and he was terrible. He was shooting. He was walking it up the floor, doing everything wrong. He’d dribble, dribble, dribble and never give the ball up. You know how All-Star games can be. Everybody wants theirs. He wanted his, too.”

The Kohl truth: From Bill Tanton of the Baltimore Evening Sun: “ESPN gambling guru Pete Axthelm is a dead ringer for Helmut Kohl. Watching the West German chancellor on TV the other night, I kept waiting for him to say, ‘Take the Jets and the points.’ ”

No hair apparent: John Lucas of the Houston Rockets, at 36 one of the oldest starting point guards in NBA history: “The only thing old on me is this bald spot, and I’ll get that fixed the next time we’re in L.A.”

Quotebook: Winnipeg Coach Bob Murdoch: “They say a tie is like kissing your sister. Heck, I’d rather be kissing my wife.”