Next He’ll Be Calling the Bruins ‘Cubs’

Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle, in Los Angeles to cover Sunday’s Super Bowl, had this observation about the training sites of the teams:

“The Cowboys are working out at a junior college buffeted by balmy ocean breezes. The Bills are practicing at USC, where last season a Trojan football player was hit by a stray bullet during practice.”

The Cowboys’ junior college practice site is UCLA, which, to our knowledge, is still a four-year school.

Trivia time: Only one Super Bowl team scored on its first offensive play. What was the play?

Cowboy lore: Dave Kindred of the Sporting News, on the Dallas Cowboys: “ . . . These Cowboys are more than fearless. They’re mean. They’re arrogant. They’re H. Ross Perot on steroids.”

Moving again?Larry Brown’s future as coach of the Clippers is limited, according to former Clipper forward Charles Smith, now with the New York Knicks.

“Trust me,” Smith said. “He’s history. It’s UCLA, or bust.”

Badge No. 007: The California Department of Fish and Game each year honors one of its game wardens as “officer of the year.” This year’s winner, from Livermore, was cited for a variety of achievements.

The honoree’s contributions to law and order for wildlife were worthy of his namesake: James Bond.

Time for a tuneup? Veteran miler Jim Spivey, who will compete in the Sunkist Invitational on Feb. 20 at the Sports Arena, estimates that he has run the mile 41,000 times in a career that began in high school in 1975.

He never gets anywhere, though, always running in a circle.

More sex appeal: A Maples Pavilion sellout crowd of 7,500 watched the Stanford women’s basketball team beat USC last Saturday. It was the fourth home sellout for the Stanford women since 1990.

When asked how the Stanford women’s attendance compares to the men’s games, Steve Raczynski, a Cardinal spokesman said: “The women outdraw the men about 1,000 per game. That’s a very sensitive subject around here. When someone asks us the question, we answer it. We don’t bring it up.”

Friendly franchise: Fred Carter, an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers, was a member of the 76er team that set an NBA record for futility, 9-73, in 1972-73.

“We were the universal health spa for the rest of the league,” Carter said. “We stopped all losing streaks and started all winning streaks.

Looking back: The first Pro Bowl game was held on Jan. 15, 1939, at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, the New York Giants defeating the Pro All-Stars, 13-10.

Trivia answer: Denver’s John Elway threw a 56-yard pass to Ricky Nattiel on the way to a 10-0 Bronco lead over Washington in Super Bowl XXII. The Redskins scored the next 42 points.

Quotebook: CBS announcer John Madden, on the thoughtlessness of fans who open their umbrellas during football games: “You not only block the view of the person behind you, you also knock the person next to you off his axis.”