If the Navy Coach Can’t Beat Army Every Time, He’s Sunk

The firing of Navy football Coach Elliot Uzelac two days after a national television audience watched and heard him call on kicker Frank Schenk in the final minute of the Army game for a 32-yard field goal and a 19-17 victory prompted Bill Tanton of the Baltimore Evening Sun to ponder:

“What does the brass at Annapolis, Md., do to coaches who lose to Army? Shoot ‘em?

“Some outstanding coaches have left Navy under duress after losing to Army.

“Eddie Erdelatz was 5-2-1 against the West Pointers, but when he lost No. 3 in ’58 he was history. The man who replaced him in ‘59, Wayne Hardin, beat Army five consecutive games, but when he failed to make it six in 1964 he was gone.”

Apparently, there is something to all this talk of interservice rivalry.

Trivia time: Which college did wide receiver John Taylor of the San Francisco 49ers attend?

The late show: Center Jeff Bostic of the Washington Redskins, whose team would have been eliminated from the playoffs if the Rams had won Monday night, says he clicked off his bedroom TV before the 49ers’ winning rally. “Thought it was over,” he said. “A guy called me from North Carolina the next morning. He said, ‘You all got a break last night.’ I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ ”

Will the Redskins be following the Rams in their last two games? “We’ll have to keep lighting candles and poking voodoo dolls,” Bostic said.

Mad money: James Worthy, who earns over $1 million a year with the Lakers, was fined $500 for his part in Tuesday’s brawl against Charlotte. That’s the equivalent of someone who earns $25,000 a year getting a parking ticket for $12.50.

Honeymoon is over: From Jan Hubbard of Newsday: “Charlotte Hornet fans loved Kelly Tripucka last year, but this season he has been making only 37% of his shots, so the fans have been booing him. That suggests they either are fickle or unsophisticated. If they were really sharp, they would have booed him last season.”

Add NBA: Orlando Magic assistant coach Bob Weiss told Utah Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan, who made the NBA’s all-defensive team six times, that Sloan could have handled the Bulls’ MichaelJordan.

“In your prime, you would have stopped Jordan cold,” Weiss said. “Of course, Jordan would have been 12 then.”

Last add NBA: Newsday’s Hubbard, noting that the Minnesota Timberwolves have a former Continental Basketball Assn. coach, Bill Musselman, and five of his former CBA players: “Apparently, Musselman and the Timberwolves are conducting the ultimate experiment--attempting to prove that the best CBA team will not be the worst NBA team.”

Trivia answer: Delaware State.

Quotebook: Jerry Reynolds, coach of the Sacramento Kings, on the injuries that have kept No. 1 draft choice Pervis Ellison on the bench: “At this rate, Pervis is going to be a great player for my successor.”