Redskins’ Gibbs Says He Misses the Pitter-Patter of Little Feet

The Washington Redskins moved into a new facility this year, vacating Redskin Park, their home for 20 years. Coach Joe Gibbs was asked what he would miss.

“I got used to the rats running around at night,” Gibbs told Pro Football Weekly. “I’ll kind of miss some of those guys, those little critters. They’d keep you on your toes.

“We called in (an exterminator). Those things were resilient. They ate that poison. They thrived on it.”

Trivia time: San Diego State running back Marshall Faulk has the same jersey number, 28, as what former UCLA and USC stars?

Lot of company: Chicago Bear Coach Mike Ditka, commenting in the San Francisco Examiner on an unflattering portrayal of him in Armen Keteyian’s unauthorized biography, “Ditka: Monster of the Midway”:

“People who live in the past are cowards and losers. And it’s the same about people who write about the past. They’re losers and they’re cowards.”

Father Vlade: The Lakers’ Vlade Divac will portray a priest on Fox television’s “Rachel Gunn, R.N.,” the Sporting News reported.

Down South: The Southeastern Conference will hold a championship football game for the first time on Dec. 5 in Birmingham, Ala.

Larry Guest of the Orlando Sentinel suggests calling it “Bubba Bowl I.”

Boycott: The University of Washington will not play a football game in California this year for the first time since 1943.

Fit to be tied: Notre Dame’s 17-17 tie with Michigan on Saturday recalls the tie in 1966 between the top-ranked Irish and second-ranked Michigan State.

In that 10-10 game, Notre Dame was criticized for deliberately playing for a tie as time ran out. That prompted a famous line by The Times’ Jim Murray: “Tie one for the Gipper.”

Willard’s place: San Francisco 49er Coach George Seifert, explaining to the San Francisco Examiner’s Joan Ryan what attracts him to his job:

“Every time you go into a game, or go into a season, it’s like there’s a beast chasing you. And you’ve got to stay away from him, because you know what’s going to happen if it ever catches you. It’s exciting. It’s exhilarating.”

Ouch: From “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno: “Fay Vincent said he’s out of professional baseball for good. What does this mean--he’s going to join the Dodgers?”

Eighty years ago today: Joe Wood of the Boston Red Sox won his 16th consecutive decision, tying Walter Johnson’s American League record, as he beat the St. Louis Browns, 2-1, in the second game of a doubleheader.

Trivia answer: The Bruins’ Jackie Robinson and the Trojans’ Anthony Davis.

Quotebook: Detroit Lion offensive coordinator Dan Henning on running back Barry Sanders: “It’s like a pinball machine. He’s the ball, and everybody else is the post.”