THE NFL / BILL PLASCHKE : THE BOTTOM LINE

By BILL PLASCHKE

Sept. 4, 1993 12 AM PT

* GAME OF THE WEEK: Kansas City Chiefs at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Is there anybody out there who isn’t dying to find out if Joe Montana can still play?

* MAKE-OR-BREAK GAME OF THE WEEK: Denver Broncos at New York Jets: The Broncos have never reached the playoffs in a season in which they lost their opener.

* FIFTY-SIX TO NOTHING: Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts: The Colts have not scored an offensive touchdown against Miami in the Hoosier Dome in nearly four years.

* IT’S ABOUT TIME: Minnesota Vikings at Raiders: Dennis Green leads the Vikings, Art Shell steers the Raiders, making this the first time in the modern era that two black head coaches will face off in an NFL game.

* STAY AWAY FROM THE BRATS: Rams vs. Green Bay Packers at Milwaukee: The Rams won at Green Bay in 1988, but are 0-3 at Milwaukee’s County Stadium since 1977.

* THE HONEYMOON IS OVER: New York Giants at Chicago Bears: One of these two new coaches will be canonized in Monday’s newspapers, the other will be ripped. Dan Reeves has a better team with the Giants, but the Bears, now coached by Dave Wannstedt, haven’t lost a season opener in a decade.

* DOG OF THE WEEK: Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns: Nobody in the NFL will have a longer day than NBC’s Don Criqui and Beasley Reece, who actually have to watch this thing.

* MONDAY, MONDAY: Dallas Cowboys at Washington Redskins: “Derrick Lassic ran for 124 yards and two touchdowns tonight as the Cowboys. . . . “ Yeah, right. Most fans are still holding their breath, waiting for Emmitt Smith.

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Bill Plaschke

Bill Plaschke, an L.A. Times sports columnist since 1996, is a member of the National Sports Media Hall of Fame and California Sports Hall of Fame. He has been named national Sports Columnist of the Year nine times by the Associated Press, and twice by the Society of Professional Journalists and National Headliner Awards. He is the author of six books, including a collection of his columns entitled “Plaschke: Good Sports, Spoilsports, Foul Balls and Oddballs.” Plaschke is also a panelist on the popular ESPN daily talk show, “Around the Horn.” He is in the national Big Brothers/Big Sisters Alumni Hall of Fame and has been named Man of the Year by the Los Angeles Big Brothers/Big Sisters as well as receiving a Pursuit of Justice Award from the California Women’s Law Center. Plaschke has appeared in a movie (“Ali”), a dramatic HBO series (“Luck”) and, in a crowning cultural moment he still does not quite understand, his name can be found in a rap song “Females Welcome” by Asher Roth.

THE NFL / BILL PLASCHKE : THE BOTTOM LINE

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