He Likes Country and Western, but He’s Singing a Tear-Jerker

An unpublicized aspect of the Washington Redskins’ 10-0 start has been the strong play of their offensive line. The Redskins have permitted only four sacks this season and could break the NFL record of seven, set by the Miami Dolphins in 1988.

However, Jerry Glanville, coach of the Atlanta Falcons, who lost to the Redskins, 56-17, Sunday, suggests that Washington’s offensive linemen are using their hands illegally.

“Their offensive line tackles better than our secondary,” Glanville said.

Jim Hanifan, Redskin offensive line coach, said Glanville is embarrassing the ghost of Glanville’s favorite singer.

“Elvis wouldn’t be proud of him,” Hanifan said. “It sounds to me like he’s a crybaby, and I always thought he was a cowboy. I guess the guy has to come up with something.”

Trivia time: With the 26 major league teams having become eligible Tuesday to bid on any of baseball’s free agents, and the average salary creeping toward $1 million, who was the first player to receive a salary of $1 million a year?

How times change: A year ago, the San Francisco 49ers were 10-0. Now they are 4-6 with one quarterback, Joe Montana, out for the season; another, Steve Young, out for three weeks, and a third, Steve Bono, coming off a 10-3 loss to the New Orleans Saints in which he completed only two passes for more than 15 yards. The last time San Francisco had more than six losses in a season was 1980, when it was 6-10.

Can the 49ers believe they’re 4-6?

“I wouldn’t have thought we’d be 6-4, to tell you the truth,” fullback Tom Rathman said.

Coming to grips: The 49ers aren’t the only team finding it difficult to adjust to a fall from grace. At Notre Dame, with the Irish having slipped from No. 5 in the country to No. 12 and blown a shot at a national championship as a result of their 35-34 loss to Tennessee--in which they failed to hold a 24-point lead--nothing seems to matter anymore. Not even an 8-2 record, the probability of a Sugar Bowl bid and Saturday’s game against No. 8 Penn State.

“I don’t know how we’re going to regroup,” defensive tackle Troy Ridgley said. “This is hard for me to take. Most teams would be happy to be this far with two losses, but I don’t know how to deal with it.”

Said Coach Lou Holtz, on the task of motivating the Irish after their stunning defeat by the Volunteers: “It’s like ‘Mission: Impossible.’ Here’s your assignment, if you accept it. Unfortunately, the tape doesn’t self-destruct after 15 seconds.”

A touch of Magic: Basketball’s Hall of Fame at Springfield, Mass., already has a display of Magic Johnson memorabilia. Might it waive the five-year waiting period to conduct a vote on Johnson’s possible induction now that he has retired prematurely?

Joe O’Brien, the Hall’s executive director, said that would be an issue for the board of trustees to consider.

“First and foremost, the Hall of Fame views this as a human tragedy,” O’Brien said of Johnson’s HIV infection. “Our minds and hearts go out to Magic and his family. Our first concern is his health. . . .”

No name: In its December college basketball special, Inside Sport magazine lists California junior forward Brian Hendrick as the most anonymous star on the West Coast. Hendrick is so anonymous that the magazine refers to him as Hendricks three times, and also puts an ‘s’ on the last name of his father, former major league baseball player George Hendrick.

Trivia answer: Nolan Ryan in 1980, after leaving the Angels as a free agent to sign with the Houston Astros.

Quotebook: Gary Clark, Redskin wide receiver: “I’m having a ball. I’ve never been 10-0, except in sandlot or peewee ball. Everyone on the team is trying to keep the dream alive. It would be nice to go undefeated.”