Player Wants to Bring Mom, So Father-Son Affair Canceled

The father-son banquet honoring the football team at Mohawk Trail Regional High in Buckland, Mass., an annual event since 1968, has been canceled. Quarterback Owa Brandstein said he wouldn’t go if his mother couldn’t.

“A lot of people supporting us through hard times were mothers, but they couldn’t come to our banquet,” Brandstein said. “It’s blatant discrimination. It’s just wrong.”

Howard Binder, a co-founder of the group that sponsors the banquet, said Monday that the banquet was canceled after the guest list became an issue. He said the father-son format was used because the hall that his group used for the banquet wouldn’t hold a bigger crowd.

Brandstein’s parents, Marcine and Stewart Eisenberg, said they supported their son.

“We said to Owa, ‘Look, this is your only senior year. You don’t have to do this for us,’ ” Marcine Eisenberg said. “He just said, ‘But it’s wrong.’ ”

Trivia time: On Dec. 5, 1971, what player set an NFL record with 247 yards rushing?

Roam and board: Would you like to have a 1,000-pound buffalo as a house guest? Then contact the University of Colorado.

Ralphie III, the school’s mascot who is actually a female, will be traveling from Boulder, Colo., to Miami for the Orange Bowl. And she needs accommodations en route.

Her needs are simple; about five pounds of grass will do for dinner. And if you would like to give her stay an old-home-week touch, have a horse on hand. An orphan, Ralphie III was raised on a baby bottle. She grew up thinking a horse was her mother.

A shot at J.R.: J.R. Richard, whose career with the Houston Astros was ended by a stroke, was cut by the West Palm Beach Tropics of the Senior League because he weighed more than 300 pounds. Said Bill Lee, player-manager of the Winter Haven Super Sox: “I see where Richard claims he throws 90 miles an hour. Maybe he does, providing he’s throwing out of a car going 60.”

The present tense: New York Giant nose tackle Erik Howard, after the club had committed five turnovers in a 24-17 loss to the Eagles Sunday: “We gave it to them. It was ridiculous. It’s tough when the defense gives up three points and they end up getting 27. Merry Christmas, Philadelphia.”

A day at the office: University of Maryland forward Jerrod Mustaf, on the hype surrounding the ACC-Big East Challenge this week: “People who sit on committees, who run the ACC and the Big East, build these things up because it puts money in their pockets. To me it’s just another game.”

He’s not alone: The New Jersey Nets’ recent five-game West Coast swing featured franchise records for fewest points in a quarter, seven; a half, 25, and a game, 68. Sam Bowie, a first-year Net, said, “It’s to a point where it’s even difficult to think of yourself as a professional athlete.”

A cooler competition: Geyser Peak Winery of Sonoma County, Calif., defeated the San Cristobal Winery of Chile, 6-5, in Mendoza, Argentina, for the championship of the International Polo Tournament of the Wineries of the World Sunday.

Trivia answer: Willie Ellison of the Rams, in a 45-28 victory over the New Orleans Saints.

Quotebook: Mike Ditka, coach of the Chicago Bears, on his club’s 6-7 record: “We got to realize we’ve fallen into that category of teams that don’t make the playoffs.”