PRO FOOTBALL '95 : Pro Football Spotlight

L.A. Times Archives

Sept. 11, 1995 12 AM PT

DIAMOND IS THE RAMS’ BEST FRIEND

Like thousands of other fans in St. Louis, Roger Diamond paid $14,000 in personal seat license fees and an additional $1,280 for four Ram tickets.

But Diamond also had to pay for a hotel room and airfare from Los Angeles.

“No, this doesn’t make sense,” said Diamond, 52, an attorney from Pacific Palisades. “But I was born and raised in L.A. I went to UCLA as an undergraduate and then to law school. Just as I finished my last final exam, December of ‘66, I decided to treat myself and buy Ram season tickets. Kept them ever since.”

Sunday’s Ram debut in St. Louis was not televised in the Los Angeles area, and maybe no one cared. But Diamond sat in section 163, row 15, seat one, wearing a well-worn Los Angeles Ram baseball cap.

“It’s an emotional thing,” said Diamond, who also purchased four season tickets to Raider games in Oakland. “I care a lot; it shouldn’t affect me, but it does. I have always supported teams in Los Angeles; all the teams except USC. I had Raider seasons tickets too, and tickets to UCLA. But my first love was the Rams.

“When I got here Saturday night I found out the UCLA game wasn’t being televised, so I came over to Busch Stadium--there was no security--and just walked on the field and around for a couple of hours and reminisced. My first memory of Ram football is 1952; I went to Bob Waterfield’s last game as a Ram. . . . I was at the Ram game in ’57 when they had 102,000 people. . . . I remember Roman Gabriel, Bill Munson, Jon Arnett. That’s great sports history.

“I’m not crazy, I’m just a football fan. I’ve arranged something here where some people can use my tickets; my wife can only take so much of this--as you can see she’s not here.”

DEION ISN’T READY TO RUSTLE FOR DALLAS

Deion Sanders will undergo arthroscopic surgery on an ankle after his baseball season ends, perhaps delaying his Dallas Cowboy debut.

In an interview shown Sunday on Fox’s “NFL Sunday” pregame show, Sanders said: “I’ve seen guys undergo arthroscopic surgery, and they’re playing the next week. Not that I want to rush myself because we are playing on Astroturf.” He said he might be idled three or four weeks.

Sanders, who played for the San Francisco 49ers last season, signed with the Cowboys on Saturday for a reported $30 million, including a $12 million signing bonus. He is currently playing for the San Francisco Giants.

If the Giants miss the playoffs, the Cowboys expected Sanders to be available to play against Green Bay Oct. 8 at Texas Stadium. But with surgery, he might be sidelined until Nov. 12.

Sanders, who is scheduled to discuss his surgery today at a news conference in Texas, also said he will remain a “fulltime baseball player, so it [football] won’t involve 16 games.”

THEY OVERDO THINGS BIG DOWN IN TEXAS

Cowboy owner Jerry Jones has never been subtle. Neither were the advertisements in and around Texas Stadium on Sunday that reflected his new (and controversial) sponsorships.

The first sign of Jones’ deal with Nike was on a highway outside the stadium, where a pillar was covered with a mural with the Nike slogan, “Just Do It.” The slogan was also painted in a parking lot and in several spots inside.

Nike’s trademark “swoosh” logo was everywhere, appearing above several ticket windows outside the stadium, above every stairwell and on the chest and head of nearly every stadium worker.

If thinking about running in Nike gear made fans thirsty, they could summon a vendor decked out in a Nike hat and shirt and order a Pepsi. No Coke, Pepsi, since Jones ignored the NFL’s deal with Coke to make a deal of his own reportedly worth $40 million.

ARE THE RAIDERS (GASP) BECOMING NICE GUYS?

Although the Raiders love to think of themselves as renegades, they’ve actually been obeying the rules this season--at least on the field.

Long renowned as the NFL’s bad boys, the Raiders committed only two penalties for 14 yards in their 20-8 victory over the Redskins on Sunday. Last week, against San Diego, they committed only six penalties for 45 yards.

Their good behavior seems to be paying off: They’ve allowed only 13 points in their first two games.

THEIR BARK WAS WORSE THAN THEIR BITE

The Browns celebrated the 10th anniversary of the “Dawg Pound,” the name given to the bleachers at Cleveland Stadium soon after the Cleveland defense started calling itself the “Dawgs.”

Hanford Dixon, who started the craze by barking at his teammates in 1984, and Frank Minnifield were among a group of former players who saluted the 11,000 people seated in the bleachers at halftime.

MOST FOLKS HAD BETTER THINGS TO DO

Attendance at the Bengal home opener showed Cincinnati fans aren’t quite ready to embrace their team after consecutive 3-13 seasons.

Only 51,147 tickets were sold, 5,603 below capacity for Riverfront Stadium. No-shows left the crowd at 48,318 on a sunny, 75-degree afternoon.

INJURY REPORT

The Buccaneers played without receiver Alvin Harper, who has been sidelined two games because of a sprained ankle, and cornerback Martin Mayhew, sidelined because of a sprained knee. They lost offensive tackle Scott Dill to a broken left hand in the second quarter. . . . Oakland Raider left tackle Robert Jenkins was taken to the hospital because of a suspected concussion. Jenkins had been filling in for Gerald Perry, who broke his arm last week. . . . The Redskins lost guard Tre Johnson, who sprained his ankle. Cornerback Tom Carter sustained a mildly strained right hamstring and tight end Coleman Bell sprained a finger.

Jacksonville quarterback Steve Beuerlein sprained his right knee when sacked in the second quarter and did not return. . . . Patriot running back David Green injured his right knee blocking on the opening kickoff and did not return. Linebacker Ted Johnson injured his right knee in the second quarter and did not return. . . . Indianapolis lost starting receiver Flipper Anderson because of a sprained left knee. Linebacker Quentin Coryatt left because of a groin injury.

New York Jet defensive end Marvin Washington bruised a shoulder, tackle Siupeli Malamala sprained a knee, defensive tackle Matt Brock strained a hamstring and linebacker Kyle Clifton sustained a mild concussion. . . . The Cardinals lost middle linebacker Eric Hill (pulled calf muscle) and tackle Eric Swann (knee) on consecutive plays against Philadelphia. On the next play, the Eagles lost Lester Holmes to a sprained knee. They had already lost fullback Kevin Turner to a sprained knee.

NOTEWORTHY

The 49er’ Jerry Rice recorded his 50th game with 100 or more receiving yards, tying Don Maynard’s NFL record. He had 11 receptions--two for touchdowns--for 167 yards against Atlanta. . . . St. Louis running back Jerome Bettis gained more yards on his second carry (13) than he did during the entire exhibition season (six) and the season opener (four) combined. He gained 83 yards, his best showing since he gained 91 yards against Denver on Nov. 6. . . . St. Louis’ Jessie Hester caught one pass, extending his consecutive-games streak to 80. . . . The Browns’ 22-6 victory over Tampa Bay on Sunday was their 200th triumph at Cleveland Stadium since they entered the NFL in 1950. That’s more than any other NFL team has won at home over the same span. . . . Detroit’s Wayne Fontes tied Monte Clark’s team record for games coached, with 107.

The Redskins blocked a punt for the first time in nearly 10 years when Darrick Brownlow got a hand on Jeff Gossett’s kick and deflected it out of the end zone for a safety. Otis Wonsley had the last one, on Nov. 24, 1985. . . . Buffalo quarterback Jim Kelly and Carolina quarterback Frank Reich combined for only 10 completions, the fewest by two NFL teams since Buffalo and Baltimore combined for 10 on Nov. 28, 1982. . . . A first-quarter fumble by the Giants’ Rodney Hampton was his first after 494 carries.

QUOTEWORTHY

Patriot cornerback Maurice Hurst after New England’s 20-3 loss to Miami: “I thought we were growing as a team and had learned how to play competitively in a game as big as this one. This is a big setback for us.”

Chief Coach Marty Schottenheimer, after his team rallied for a 20-17 overtime victory over the Giants: “From a football artistic standpoint, we weren’t very good , but with regard to an affair of the heart and purpose, we were real good.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

FACTS AND FIGURES

NATIONAL CONFERENCE

*--*

WEST W L T San Francisco 49ers 2 0 0 St. Louis Rams 2 0 0 Atlanta Falcons 1 1 0 Carolina Panthers 0 2 0 New Orleans Saints 0 2 0

*--*

CENTRAL W L T Chicago Bears 1 0 0 Minnesota Vikings 1 1 0 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1 1 0 Green Bay Packers 0 1 0 Detroit Lions 0 2 0

*--*

EAST W L T Dallas Cowboys 2 0 0 Washington Redskins 1 1 0 Philadelphia Eagles 1 1 0 Arizona Cardinals 0 2 0 N.Y. Giants 0 2 0

*--*

AMERICAN CONFERENCE

*--*

WEST W L T Oakland Raiders 2 0 0 Kansas City Chiefs 2 0 0 Denver Broncos 1 1 0 San Diego Chargers 1 1 0 Seattle Seahawks 0 2 0

*--*

CENTRAL W L T Cincinnati Bengals 2 0 0 Pittsburgh Steelers 2 0 0 Cleveland Browns 1 1 0 Houston Oilers 1 1 0 Jacksonville Jaguars 0 2 0

*--*

EAST W L T Miami Dolphins 2 0 0 New England Patriots 1 1 0 Buffalo Bills 1 1 0 Indianapolis Colts 1 1 0 N.Y. Jets 0 2 0

*--*

TOP PERFORMANCES

PASSING

*--*

Player, Team Att. Cmp. Yds. TD STEVE YOUNG, 49ers 40 27 331 3 SCOTT MITCHELL, Lions 47 27 279 1 GUS FREROTTE, Redskins 34 20 272 0 DREW BLEDSOE, Patriots 51 25 267 0 STAN HUMPHRIES, Chargers 35 23 260 2 VIN TESTAVERDE, Browns 27 17 256 2 TRENT DILFER, Buccaneers 36 20 255 0 JEFF BLAKE, Bengals 30 20 247 2 JIM EVERETT, Saints 40 24 246 1 WARREN MOON, Vikings 29 19 233 1

*--*

RECEIVING

*--*

Player, Team Rec. Yds. TD JERRY RICE, 49ers 11 167 2 TONY MARTIN, Chargers 13 163 1 IRVING FRYAR, Dolphins 3 113 2 WILL MOORE, Patriots 8 112 0 ANTHONY MILLER, Chargers 6 108 3 CARL PICKENS, Bengals 5 102 1 CHRIS CALLOWAY, Giants 5 100 1

*--*

RUSHING

*--*

Player, Team Car. Yds. TD NATRONE MEANS, Chargers 26 115 0 EMMITT SMITH, Cowboys 26 114 1 ROBERT SMITH, Vikings 20 111 1 THURMAN THOMAS, Bills 22 91 1 ERRICT RHETT, Buccaneers 23 89 0 MARCUS ALLEN, Chiefs 19 86 1

*--*

THIS WEEK

SUNDAY’S RESULTS

* Oakland 20, Washington 8

* St. Louis 17, New Orleans 13

* Miami 20, New England 3

* Pittsburgh 34, Houston 17

* Minnesota 20, Detroit 10

* Buffalo 31, Carolina 9

* Kansas City 20, N.Y. Giants 17 (OT)

* Cleveland 22, Tampa Bay 6

* Dallas 31, Denver 21