Good Defenses Know When to Let Foe Score

Columnist Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle is intrigued by Sam Wyche’s “Zone of Concentration Theory.”

Wyche, coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was the television analyst for the Minnesota-Washington NFL playoff game on Jan. 2.

The Vikings scored first but trailed at halftime, 17-7, prompting Wyche to say: “One thing you hate to see as a coach is your team coming out and scoring early. You get into a zone of concentration, and scoring early takes you out of the zone.”

Ostler responded: “Sure enough, the Redskins won, 24-7, and probably still are laughing about how they tricked the Vikings into scoring an early touchdown.”

Trivia time: Who scored the first touchdown in the first Super Bowl?

Old-timer: During his NBA highlights, Channel 2 sportscaster Rory Markas mentioned “the ageless Larry Nance.”

Nance is 33.

His own agenda: After the Sacramento Kings recently routed Dallas and Philadelphia by a total of 114 points, former Laker forward Kurt Rambis, a King reserve, was asked if the victories gave him a flashback of the Lakers’ glory years.

“I have flashbacks all the time,” Rambis said, “but none are related to basketball.”

Option: Columnist Art Spander of the San Francisco Examiner, on the firing of Larry Smith as USC football coach:

“When Fresno State beat USC, 24-7, those lifelong Trojan alumni had two options: Either they could become raisin farmers in the Central Valley around Fresno, or they could demand a new football coach. Anyone out there who would rather go with the first option raise his hand. Right. Bye, Larry.”

Think again: Orlando Magic General Manager Pat Williams and his wife have adopted 14 children.

“My wife and I were invited to a New Year’s Eve party and asked to bring our noisemakers,” he said. “I told them, ‘That’s nice, but do you really want us to bring our kids?’ ”

Howling success: The San Antonio Spurs’ media guide devotes a full page to its mascot, “the Coyote.” Some excerpts:

How obtained: Flea agent. Full name: Entertainus Carnivorous. Favorite food: Well-done Roadrunner under glass. Favorite movies include “Dances With Wolves.”

FYI: Track & Field News reports that Bike Athletic Co. recently celebrated the making of its 300-millionth jockstrap.

Bike began making athletic supporters in 1874 to provide aid to cyclists racing on cobblestone streets.

Backing in: Doug Vetter didn’t leave the right impression with West Virginia wrestling Coach Craig Turnbull when he sent high school press clippings that included photographs of his tattooed back showing a wizard, a rainbow and several cloud-enshrouded planets.

Now a sophomore, Vetter has made a believer of his coach by his work ethic. “It was a lesson in prejudging,” Turnbull said.

Trivia answer: The Green Bay Packers’ Max McGee scored on a 37-yard pass play from Bart Starr.

Quotebook: Promoter Don King, talking about Julio Cesar Chavez’s pay-per-view fight against Greg Haugen in Mexico City on Feb. 20: “He (Chavez) speaks English, Spanish and he’s bilingual, too.”