Young Ready for Big Game And Super Stupid Questions

Steve Young, San Francisco 49er quarterback, is prepared for any questions he might be asked this week before the Super Bowl game in Miami.

“I’m going to carry a little pad, and in case someone asks me one of the all-timers, I’ve got to write it down so I don’t forget it--something utterly stupid,” Young told Ira Miller of the San Francisco Chronicle.

One question he is sure to be asked will concern a famous quarterback he succeeded.

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Trivia time: Who holds the Super Bowl record for the longest kickoff return?

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Any more questions? Charlie Callahan, longtime Miami Dolphin publicity director, who died recently, had a standard response when the methods of Joe Robbie, the late Dolphin owner, were criticized:

“No Joe Robbie, no Miami Dolphins.”

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Unlimited supply: Digger Phelps, former Notre Dame basketball coach who plans to run for President in 2004, used to say that being the son of an undertaker had its advantages.

“When I was dating my wife, I sent her flowers every day.”

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Book crisis: Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe on replacement baseball players: “Imagine what the folks who publish ‘The Baseball Encyclopedia’ must be thinking.

“Their tome already runs more than 2,000 pages. What happens if 700 replacement players serve a week or two in the big leagues? It would be like adding 700 (Eddie) Gaedels to the Baseball Bible.”

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Rubbing it in: Jon Wilner of the Arizona Daily Star after Arizona routed USC, 94-73, on Saturday in Tucson:

“USC has no one to match Arizona’s size or skill. In fact, word has it the Trojans have filed an application with the Big Sky to become its south-central affiliate.”

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Mercy mission: Clyde Drexler, after he and five other Portland Trail Blazer players were fined and suspended for leaving the bench when a fight broke out between teammate Rod Strickland and Sacramento King center Olden Polynice:

“In that particular case, Polynice, who’s seven feet tall, is getting ready to kill your little point guard. I don’t think you want to sit down and watch this.”

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Vault fact: Melisa Price, 17, of Kingsburg, Calif., High set a national women’s pole vault record of 12 feet 1 inch Saturday in Reno.

That mark would have won the men’s gold medal at the 1896, 1900, 1904 and interim 1906 Olympic Games. Price will compete in her specialty in the Sunkist Invitational at the Sports Arena on Feb. 11.

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Looking back: On this day in 1960, Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors set a record for rookies with 58 points in a 127-117 victory over the Detroit Pistons. He also took down 42 rebounds.

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Trivia answer: Fulton Walker of Miami, 98 yards to a touchdown against Washington in 1983 at the Rose Bowl.

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Quotebook: George Raveling, former USC basketball coach: “Fans never fall asleep at our games because they’re afraid they’ll get hit by a pass.”