His Approach to Coaching Deserves Hug

The New England Patriots are 3-7 after going 1-15 last season, but they seem to have responded to the cheerleading style of Dick MacPherson, the former Syracuse coach who gives exuberant hugs to his assistants, his players and even the fiancees of his players.

Only once in the 10 games have the undermanned Patriots trailed by more than a touchdown going into the fourth quarter, an indication of their improved resiliency.

MacPherson is satisfied, sort of.

“When we came in, we thought the program was kind of in disarray,” he said. “There was low self-esteem on the team and it wasn’t a very happy camp.

“We wanted to re-establish that football is fun, that football is being played in New England by a great bunch of young men with NFL skill.

“We thought that would be a great accomplishment in 1991, and we got that done early. Then we started playing representative NFL football, but now we’re frustrated because we don’t have the wins, we keep coming up short. A 3-7 record just isn’t good enough.”

Payback: The New York Yankees drew criticism for their $1.55-million signing of high school pitcher Brien Taylor, the No. 1 pick in the June draft, but Taylor made an impressive debut in the Florida instructional league.

He gave up four earned runs in 16 innings, walked eight and struck out 27. His fastball was consistently clocked in the 94- to 98-m.p.h. range.

Said minor league coordinator Tony Cloninger: “He’s got the loosest arm I can remember.”

Trivia time: Friday marked the 31st anniversary of a 71-point performance by which former Laker?

Bure and simple?After a surreptitious departure from the Soviet Union, Valeri Bure needed a court order before he could join his older brother, Pavel, as a professional hockey player in North America.

Pavel plays for the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL. Valeri, 17, made his debut with the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League this week. The Bure brothers and their father left the Soviet Union in August, flew to Los Angeles and met with agent Ron Salcer, who arranged for Pavel to join the Canucks and Valeri to go on Spokane’s protected list.

The Soviet Ice Hockey Federation released Pavel, but refused to do the same for Valeri, who had to get an injunction to play for the Chiefs.

His reaction: “I’m happy to play. It has been a long time waiting.”

Consistency: Unless he gets injured, Barry Sanders of the Detroit Lions probably will reach 1,000 yards for the third time in his three seasons in the NFL--he has 902 yards with six games left--and could do it Sunday against the Rams.

That would make him only the seventh player in NFL history to go three for three. The others: Eric Dickerson, Earl Campbell, Ottis Anderson, Tony Dorsett, William Andrews and John Brockington.

Some who failed: Gale Sayers, Walter Payton, Jim Brown and Marcus Allen.

Trivia answer: Elgin Baylor, who did it in a 1960 victory over the New York Knicks, 123-108.

Quotebook: Irwin Jacobs, a part owner of the Minnesota Vikings, on the acquisition by former general manager Mike Lynn of Herschel Walker for five players and several draft choices: “It will go down as one of the worst trades in the past, present and future history of the NFL.”