Fans Just Love to Sing the Boos in Cleveland and Pittsburgh

Sam Wyche, coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, likened rowdy fans at Riverfront Stadium last Sunday to crowds at Cleveland Brown games when he took the public-address microphone to stop a snowball barrage.

During the Bengals’ 24-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Wyche urged fans to point out those who threw snowballs so that they could be ejected. He shouted, “You don’t live in Cleveland. You live in Cincinnati!”

Jerry Glanville, coach of the Houston Oilers, said of Wyche’s outburst: “I know Sam doesn’t like Cleveland, but those people really know how to boo. In fact, we were up there for Christmas Eve (for last year’s AFC wild-card game) and they booed Santa Claus when he came out of the dugout. You’ve got to love a crowd like that.

“In Pittsburgh, when they introduce our team, they stand as one and boo. You’ve got to love them. . . . They boo for a living up there.”

Trivia time: On Dec. 17, 1933, which team won the first NFL championship?

Mixed emotions: For whom did Tom Landry cheer when he saw Dallas play in person Saturday for the first time since he was fired as coach by the Cowboys?

“I’d like to see the Giants win because it means more to them,” Landry had said Friday, noting that he played for and helped coach the team for 10 years.

But as game time approached Saturday, he said he was neutral, adding: “I still feel I’m a Cowboy.”

Sibling rivalry: New York Knick Gerald Wilkins had two personal firsts against the Atlanta Hawks Friday night: It was the first time he had been assigned to guard his older brother, Dominique, and it was the first time he outscored him.

Gerald led all scorers with 29 points as the Knicks won, 113-109. Dominique had 25.

“It sure feels good to outscore him,” Wilkins said. “Back in the days when we would go one-on-one, he knew he could stop me.”

Showing the way: Gymnast Kurt Thomas and Maria Panait, wife of the man who brought Nadia Comaneci to the United States, appeared on CNN’s “Larry King Live” recently.

When King asked Thomas why he did not believe Comaneci and Constantin Panait were having an affair, especially after the two were seen holding hands, Thomas said:

“He was probably holding her hand to protect her. It’s a new country and she could get lost.”

Stick with me, kid: Jockey P.J. Lydon, 23, won the first race of her career aboard longshot Dashing Sass in the first race at Aqueduct Friday. Lydon’s victory came 16 rides after her first mount, aboard Dashing Sass at Aqueduct Nov. 6.

Trivia answer: The Chicago Bears with a 23-21 victory over the New York Giants.

Quotebook: Roger Neilson, coach of the New York Rangers, on his club’s two home games during Christmas week: “I’d rather be on the road . . . being home for the players during Christmas is too distracting.”