Just Like the Raiders, NFL Might Say ‘Arrivederci, L.A.’

Mike Littwin, Baltimore Sun columnist who used to write for The Times, doesn’t see Los Angeles getting a team to replace the Raiders.

“There’s as good a chance the NFL will put another team in the Los Angeles Coliseum as there is in the Rome Colosseum, which is only slightly older and doesn’t have luxury boxes,” he wrote.

He also wrote: “Don’t look for a trend here. Donald’s not going back to Ivana. The Dodgers aren’t returning to Brooklyn. Rob Lowe’s not going back to Atlanta.”

The firing line: The NFL coach most likely to get fired next season? Oddsmaker Danny Sheridan lists Ron Meyer of Indianapolis as an 8-5 favorite. Then come Jerry Burns of Minnesota at 2-1, Mike Ditka of Chicago at 3-1, Buddy Ryan of Philadelphia and Chuck Knox of Seattle at 5-1, Joe Gibbs of Washington at 7-1, Bill Parcells of the New York Giants at 10-1, and Marv Levy of Buffalo at 12-1.

Add Ryan: He invited free agent receiver Dennis McKinnon to a tryout with the Eagles, but McKinnon refused to run the 40-yard dash.

“They know how fast I am,” he said. “I ran past their secondary enough times.”

Trivia time: What are the real first names of Babe Parilli, Babe Didrikson and Babe Herman?

Out of bounds: Pro golfer Brian Tennyson told the Atlanta Journal why his wife Jeanne no longer caddies for him: “In the U.S. Open in 1987, I was grinding to make the cut and turned an easy par into a bogey on No. 16. She glared at me and said, ‘You’re choking, you’re choking.’ So I fired her.”

What a howl: Headline in the Atlanta Journal: “SEC Goes to the Dogs.” Translation: Georgia defeated Auburn for its first Southeastern Conference basketball title, 94-79.

Fifty-two years ago today: On March 16, 1938, Temple routed Colorado in the first National Invitation Tournament, 60-36. It was the first major postseason basketball tournament and it was held at Madison Square Garden. Scoring 10 points for Colorado was football star and future Supreme Court Justice Byron (Whizzer) White.

Backing off: From Boston Celtic rookie Michael Smith, saying he no longer is trying to become the next Larry Bird: “He does so many different things. I’m slowly realizing I could never be the next him. He’s too good. That doesn’t mean I won’t try to be the next me, but that guy is amazing.”

Add Bird: He admits he’s slipped since his MVP days but says: “I’m just happy to be playing. I’d play in Puerto Rico if they let me.”

Disclaimer: Said Denver Nugget Coach Doug Moe after he had recorded his 600th victory: “I think the other 10 coaches who’ve won 600 games have been dishonored.”

Trivia answer: Vito Parilli, Mildred Didrikson and Floyd Caves Herman.

Quotebook: Mark Calcavecchia, on his theory of golf: “I use one of Bobby Jones’. Hit it hard, it’ll land somewhere.”