Comebacks to Remember From Way Back

Times columnist Allan Malamud recently referred to a record comeback by the San Francisco 49ers in 1980 against the New Orleans Saints, winning, 38-35, after having trailed, 35-7.

Former Ram quarterback Bob Waterfield was also responsible for two memorable comebacks. In 1948, the Rams trailed the Philadelphia Eagles, 28-0, with 16 minutes to play.

Waterfield threw four touchdown passes and kicked four extra points as the Rams earned a 28-28 tie.

In 1952, Waterfield rallied the Rams again. Los Angeles trailed the Green Bay Packers in the fourth quarter, 28-6, but won, 30-28.

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Trivia time: Coach David Shula of the Cincinnati Bengals, at 32 years 7 months, is the third-youngest NFL coach since World War II. Who were younger when hired?

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Lonely world: Mike Cofer, San Francisco 49er kicker, missed two field goals in a 34-31 defeat by Buffalo Sunday, the last from 47 yards with 54 seconds remaining.

“It’s our (kickers’) own little world we’re in,” Cofer told the San Francisco Chronicle. “(Teammates) don’t understand that. They can’t. The guys that fumble the ball, it doesn’t affect them. They carry the ball again. They get yardage and everybody loves them. We get one shot.”

Coach George Seifert looked at two other kickers this week, but Cofer still has his job--for now.

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Gravy train: Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s marketing deals are flourishing since the Olympic Games in Barcelona, according to USA Today.

Her husband, Bob Kersee, won’t say how much the current and potential deals are worth.

“Let’s put it this way,” he said. “It’s not going to be bad married to a millionaire.”

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Mystery: George Kiseda, a former copy editor in The Times’ sports department, has a problem with the Big Bang theory.

“How can scientists be so sure the universe began 15 billion years ago when they can’t even tell us how old Chick Hearn is?”

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Costly feeling: In response to a question concerning his “gut feeling” about the Buffalo Bills in 1992, Buffalo Coach Marv Levy said: “The last time I had a gut feeling I was at Santa Anita--and that didn’t work out very well.”

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The Big O: USC will play Oklahoma in Norman, Okla., Saturday for the first time since 1982, when the Trojans shut out the Sooners, 12-0, ending a 181-game scoring streak for Oklahoma.

When that game ended, a Los Angeles sportswriter quipped: “Now, I know what the ‘O’ for Oklahoma stands for.”

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Poltergeist: Beth Daniel may be a fan of Arnold Palmer, but not of the White Eagle course that he designed in Naperville, Ill.

“It’s not like the greens are flat,” Daniel told Golf World. “You’re putting over buried people, animals, and I don’t know what. Something is down there.”

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He wears a mask: Philadelphia Phillie catcher Darren Daulton filmed a segment for the TV soap opera “Santa Barbara” earlier this year, only to have Philadelphia’s NBC affiliate drop the show the day before Daulton’s performance aired.

His teammates now call him, “The Phantom of the Opera.”

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Trivia answer: Harland Svare, Rams, 31 years 11 months, 1962, and Johnny Michelsen, Pittsburgh Steelers, 32 years 2 months, 1948.

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Quotebook: Cornerback Darrell Green, on whether his Washington Redskins can repeat as Super Bowl champions: “Super Bowl? I don’t even know how to spell Super Bowl. It’s like potato. “