There’s a Kicker to Tale of Close Doesn’t Count

Ram kicker Mike Lansford spoke at the Los Angeles Boys and Girls Club’s 16th annual Rally with the Rams, held Friday at the Bonaventure Hotel.

Lansford discussed Coach John Robinson’s confidence in him:

“Against the (San Francisco) 49ers last year, we were on the one-yard line. I was lined up to kick and then I was told Coach Robinson had called for a fake.

“I was stunned. He’s so conservative, he doesn’t even run fake field goals in practice.

“Well, we run the fake, Pete Holohan, the holder, runs with it and ends up on the five. I go back to the sideline, I say to Coach Robinson, ‘What did we do that for? I was all lined up to kick it from the one.’

“He says, ‘I thought it was out of your range.’ ”

Add Rams: Said Robinson, introducing quarterback Jim Everett: “This man is very comfortable with himself now. He is a millionaire several times over, a true star, recognized in all the 7-Elevens around town.”

Trivia time: What do French Open tennis champion Monica Seles and Los Angeles broadcaster Stu Nahan have in common?

Check-out time: Steve Huffman, the former Notre Dame lineman who alleged in a Sports Illustrated article that Coach Lou Holtz’s football program has tolerated widespread steroid abuse, was asked about the school’s denials.

Huffman borrowed a line from his brother Tim, who played at Notre Dame under Dan Devine in the late 1970s:

“He said it was like turning on the light late at night and watching the cockroaches scramble.”

She couldn’t hide: When heavyweight boxing champion Buster Douglas visited the Columbus (Ohio) Boys Club in May, he was handed a note from 12-year-old Paula Taylor, asking him to visit the Faith Mission, a shelter for the homeless.

After visiting the shelter twice, Douglas learned that the girl and her family had already found a home. So he tracked her down and paid her a surprise visit at school.

Said Paula: “It was amazing. When I would see him on the news, I would never think in my life that I would ever meet him.”

Since then, Douglas has tried to help her mother find a job and has bought gifts for the family and clothing for the girl.

Add Douglas: He is honorary chairman of Make Room Columbus, a local group dedicated to finding shelter for homeless families, and speaks publicly in support of the homeless.

Said Norman Wittschen, director of the Faith Mission shelter: “He always asks, ‘What do you need? What are you low on?’ I tell him, and usually within 24 hours someone shows up with a trunkload and back seat full of baby food, infant formula and disposable diapers.”

Trivia answer: Their last names are palindromes, spelled the same forward and backward.

Quotebook: Senior Tour golfer George Archer: “Baseball players quit playing and they take up golf. Basketball players quit, take up golf. Football players quit, take up golf. What are we supposed to take up when we quit?”