Starkey Rose to the Occasion to Call the Play

There is calm, cool, reasonable play-by-play work.

Then there is broadcaster Joe Starkey’s call of “the play” during Cal’s 25-20 victory over Stanford in the Big Game on Nov. 20, 1982:

“All right, here we go with the kickoff. Harmon will probably try to squib it, and he does.

“Moen comes loose--the Bears have to get out of bounds. Rodgers along the sideline--another one--they’re still in deep trouble at midfield. They tried to do a couple of . . . THE BALL IS STILL LOOSE!

“And they get it to Rodgers. And they get it back now to the 30, they’re down to the 20, the ball . . . THE BAND IS OUT ON THE FIELD! HE’S GONNA GO IN FOR THE TOUCHDOWN! HE’S GOING IN THE END ZONE!

“WILL IT COUNT? The Bears have scored! But the bands are out on the field.

“The Bears, believe it or not, took it all the way into the end zone. If the penalty is against Stanford, California would win the game. If it is not, the game is over and Stanford has won. We’ve heard no decision yet.

“AND THE BEARS . . . THE BEARS . . . HAVE WON, THE BEARS HAVE WON! OH MY GOD! THE MOST AMAZING . . . SENSATIONAL . . . DRAMATIC . . . HEART-RENDING, EXCITING, THRILLING FINISH IN THE HISTORY OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL! California has won the Big Game over Stanford!

“Oh, excuse me for my voice, but I have NEVER, NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT IN THE HISTORY OF . . . ANY GAME IN MY LIFE!

“The Bears have won. There will be no extra point.”

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Trivia time: UCLA’s NCAA-record scoring streak was ended this season. When was the last time the Bruins were shut out by USC?

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Say again? KMPC’s Joe McDonnell had finished reading the name of every player selected during the first two rounds of baseball’s expansion draft Tuesday afternoon. It took him about five minutes to recap the 52 players.

Then his partner, Doug Krikorian, chipped in. “I’m sorry, Joe. I missed that,” Krikorian said. “Could you go over that again?”

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Marvelous picks: From George Vecsey, in the New York Times, on the expansion draft: “The next Marvelous Marv Throneberry may have been announced in public yesterday, and the lucky devil doesn’t even know it yet. He hasn’t missed first base and second base on his mad dash to third, but this rampage is in his stars.”

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Faint praise: What do you say when you lose a player in the expansion draft?

Brian Sabean, New York Yankee vice president for player development, after the Florida Marlins had selected outfielder Carl Everett, New York’s No. 1 draft choice in 1990: “He has a sprinter’s ability but also a sprinter’s problems.”

Gerry Hunsicker, New York Met assistant vice president, on pitcher Jose Martinez, who was picked by the Marlins: “A minor league player is a minor league player. He has not been in the big leagues yet.”

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Old story: Monica Seles was talking about Anke Huber, her semifinal opponent in the recent women’s tennis tournament in Oakland.

“I was worried about her youth,” Seles said. “There are a lot of young girls coming up. Huber is definitely a player of the future.”

Huber will turn 18 on Dec. 4. Seles will turn 19 on Dec. 2.

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Trivia answer: In 1947, USC defeated UCLA, 6-0.

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Quotebook: Denver Nugget Coach Dan Issel on Indiana’s Pooh Richardson after Denver’s 120-98 loss to the Pacers: “They could have had Winnie the Pooh at point guard and they would have won tonight.”