Buddy Ryan Out of Work, Not Out of Opinions

Buddy Ryan, fired as coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, has never been shy about expressing his opinion. Writing for the New York Times on the NFL draft, Ryan criticized the Raiders for picking USC quarterback Todd Marinovich in the first round.

“The Raiders need a new starting quarterback; that was painfully obvious in last year’s playoffs. But Marinovich is not going to help them this year. The guy deserved to be drafted, but not in the first round.”

Jay Schroeder would be surprised to learn that he is no longer needed.

Add Ryan: He doesn’t have much regard for Notre Dame’s Rocket Ismail, either:

“Don’t be saddened that the Rocket will touch down first in Canada. Any team that would have drafted him early would have made a mistake.”

Trivia time: What costs about $7,000 and has 18 diamonds weighing 2.3 carats?

Plugging along: A racehorse named Sallie Blue, after losing 70 races, finally won on her 71st attempt in January at the Penn National Race Course in Grantville, Pa.

However, it wasn’t a record for futility. That distinction is held by a horse named Really A Tenor, who didn’t win until her 86th attempt on July 9, 1990.

Net worth: Phil Jackman of the Baltimore Evening Sun will not endear himself to feminists with his opinions on women’s tennis. A sample comment:

“Not since the days when Billie Jean King, Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong and Chris Evert invariably showed up in the semifinals of the major tournaments has women’s tennis been so deep and competitive.

“Still, it’s hard to make a case for them grabbing prize money equal to the men. Clearly, and often without justification, the men are the main attraction at the biggies and, as witnessed at the French Open, they usually work about twice as hard and long as the women.

“It’s not unusual for a guy to go five grueling sets in a first-round match while the top-rated gals are cruising through a series of 6-1, 6-0 cakewalks right up to the quarterfinals.”

A thriller?: In 1932, USC led UCLA, 8-2, before the Bruins rallied to win, 19-17. Football? Baseball? Believe it or not, it was a basketball game.

Yankee bashing: Tony Jacklin, captain of the European Ryder Cup team, is as free with his opinions as Buddy Ryan. A sampling from an article in Golf Digest:

--On Spain, which is playing host to the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona:

“I lived in Spain for eight years, and they couldn’t run a raffle there. The Spanish people are not organized enough to run that kind of event.”

--On Fred Couples’ losing to Christy O’Connor in a 1989 Ryder Cup match: “He just doesn’t react well to pressure. He can’t handle it.”

--On the unwillingness of Americans to admit that foreigners are dominating golf: “They simply cannot accept that a foreign player can be the best. They never actually come out and say it, but they think that unless John Wayne comes in with a trumpet at the end, it doesn’t work.”

Where’s the beef?: It’s on the Stanford offensive line next season. The smallest player, center Chris Dalman, weighs 280 pounds. The Cardinal line averages 294 pounds. Some NFL lines are puny by comparison.

Trivia answer: The New York Giants’ Super Bowl rings.

Quotebook: Ray Kist, trainer of the Niagara University basketball team, commenting on an over-weight student manager: “He thinks a triple-double is three double-cheeseburgers.”