Hot Rod Didn’t Even Have to Buy a Ticket

Hot Rod Hundley, in “Tall Tales” by Terry Pluto, recalled the first time he ever played against Bob Cousy of the Boston Celtics:

“It was a thrill for me. He was my idol and when he said hello, it was as if my heart stopped beating.

“In that first game, he scored 20 points on me in the first half. George Mikan was my coach, and Mikan said: ‘Hundley, I told you to watch Cousy, didn’t I?’

“I said: ‘I did and he’s great, isn’t he?’ ”

Trivia time: Which NFL team has the current most consecutive losing seasons?

Getaway day: The Raiders play the Rams on Nov. 13, prompting Bernie Lincicome of the Chicago Tribune to write: “The winner gets to leave town first.”

Countdown: LaVell Edwards, veteran Brigham Young football coach, on the Western Athletic Conference’s expansion to 16 teams:

“I won’t live long enough for us to play everybody.”

Bet on it: Tom FitzGerald of the San Francisco Chronicle wonders: “When freshman quarterback Monte Christo calls the signals for Nebraska some day, will they call his cadence, ‘The count of . . . ?’ ”

Faulk’s vault: Marshall Faulk, rookie running back with the Indianapolis Colts, kept all three footballs after his three touchdowns last Sunday against the Houston Oilers and said he will keep the ball from every touchdown he scores in the NFL.

“Good thing Faulk isn’t a jockey,” writes Woody Woodburn of the Ventura Star-Free Press. “He’d need a barn instead of a trophy case.”

Task force: The security-conscious San Francisco 49ers took out permits from the Kansas City, Mo., public works department to have what amounts to a short parade for their game with the Kansas City Chiefs today.

The distance from the team hotel to Arrowhead Stadium is less than a mile. Yet, the 49ers requested 10 police officers, at a cost to the team of about $3,000, for extra security.

“I don’t know what they’re going to do with 10 officers,” one Kansas City policeman said.

Hold back the crowd?

Holdouts: Gene Collier, writing in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “Only four National Football League teams among the 28 have no retired uniform numbers: the Buffalo Bills, Raiders, Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers. Guess none of those franchises ever had any real good players.”

Field day: Statistician Bud Goode notes the impact of NFL kickoffs from the 30-yard line instead of the 35.

In the first week of play, points scored went from an average of 18.7 in 1993 to 23.3 because of improved field position on kickoffs. Moreover, plays per touchdown were reduced from 37 to 29.

Trivia answer: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with 11.

Quotebook: Randall (Tex) Cobb, former heavyweight boxing contender: “People always ask me if success is going to change me, and I tell them I sure hope so.”