Smith Wearing on USC Fans, Who Are Wearing a New Shirt

Are the natives growing restless?

Times staff writer Jerry Crowe reports that T-shirts were being sold on the USC campus Saturday outlining the “Top 10 Reasons Why (football Coach) Larry Smith Should Be Fired.”

They are:

“10. He’s more conservative than William F. Buckley.

9. Alumni are so embarrassed they are sneaking in the back door of their country clubs.

8. Who hasn’t beaten the Bruins in the last five years? (Sorry to burst your bubble, Larry.)

7. He’s a student of the Bo Schembechler School of Bowl-Game Preparation (1-3).

6. He’s no John McKay.

5. During games, he calls Ted Tollner for advice about halftime adjustments.

4. He thinks he’s a better judge of quarterback talent than Al Davis. (We miss you, Todd.)

3. ‘Tailback U.’ never alternates running backs. (Even O.J. is upset.)

2. Lou Holtz makes a monkey out of him every year (0-5).

1. Memphis State! (That traditional football power.)”

Add complaints: Before Saturday’s 14-3 loss to the Washington Huskies dropped the Trojans to 3-6, former USC safety Dennis Smith of the Denver Broncos told the Daily Breeze:

“I can’t remember them ever losing five games in one season. And I couldn’t believe the Cal game (a 52-30 loss). I felt like calling them the Oregon State Trojans.”

Trivia time: What do Washington Coach Don James and Buffalo Bill quarterback Jim Kelly have in common?

Magic impact: Atlanta Falcon receiver Andre Rison, one of that city’s most eligible bachelors, said the news that longtime friend Magic Johnson has been infected by HIV will prompt Rison to change his lifestyle and get married within two years, even though he hasn’t selected a bride yet.

“An incident like this provokes you to make a decision, maybe a little sooner than you originally wanted to,” said Rison, 24, who once shared a home in Lansing, Mich., with Johnson.

“It’s scary, because if you rush into a marriage, you might marry the wrong person. But, you know, I’d rather marry the wrong person than to go out like that.

“If you go back to the Bible, it says that sex out of wedlock is a sin. I think maybe there was too much going on. The Lord decided to stick a sense of urgency into this thing. I guess he just needed a hell of a good man to get the message across.”

The one and only: Jud Heathcote, who coached Magic Johnson at Michigan State, asked journalists not to use the nickname of “Magic” for Michigan’s star wide receiver, Desmond Howard.

“As far as I’m concerned, in the state of Michigan, there should be only one Magic, period,” Heathcote said, adding that he resents hearing and seeing the the nickname used for Howard by the media.

Howard, who was 8 years old when Johnson led the Spartans to the NCAA title in 1979, said “There was a sense of pride when I was nicknamed Magic in the fifth grade, and today I’m proud that the nickname has stayed with me.”

You can’t look it up: In a list of scores from last season in its 1991-92 basketball media guide, UCLA does not include a 74-69 loss to Penn State in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Trivia answer: Both played quarterback at the University of Miami and will be inducted into that school’s Hall of Fame in February.

Bronx bomber? Among the clubs reportedly interested in Dave Winfield as a designated hitter are the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners. Shouldn’t the New York Yankees consider re-signing Winfield?

Yankee designated hitters were last in the American League in 1991 with a .222 batting average and 63 runs batted in. Winfield, whose 1992 option wasn’t picked up by the Angels, batted .262 with 28 home runs and 86 RBIs.

Quotebook: Bubby Brister, on his desire to be traded if Neil O’Donnell remains the Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback: “I’m not going to be a backup quarterback. If I can’t start, I’m out of here. I’m going hunting and fishing. I know I can start.”