Maybe Rams Had No Business Winning the First Four Games
Fans in St. Louis were euphoric after the surprising Rams won their first four games. But Coach Rich Brooks was cautious.
“All of a sudden, we’re a curiosity amongst the media other than just in St. Louis,” Brooks told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
“We can’t get carried away with some newfound attention because it will go away in a real quick fashion if we don’t take care of business.”
The Rams didn’t take care of business last Sunday, losing to Indianapolis, 21-18.
Trivia time: Who holds the Pacific 10 Conference record for yards rushing in a game?
Available: Patrick Ewing, the 33-year-old center of the New York Knicks, isn’t bitter that Pat Riley left to become the coach of the Miami Heat. Far from it.
“If the situation were reversed, I’d do the same thing,” Ewing told Barbara Barker of Newsday. “With the kind of things Miami gave him, anyone would kill for that.”
Mismatch: Linebacker Gary Plummer of the San Francisco 49ers was asked when he thinks football players will be besieged by fans coming onto the field.
“It won’t happen soon because nobody wants to tackle a 300-pound giant in armor,” he said.
Different agenda: Phil Collier in the San Diego Union-Tribune: “The group that opposed the building of a new ballpark in Seattle went by the name ‘Citizens For More Important Things.’ ”
Flowery prose: From Marino Parascenzo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “In the end, the smell of burnt roses hung in the cool night air.”
A romance novel? No, just Parascenzo on Penn State’s fading Rose Bowl hopes after losing to Wisconsin last Saturday, 17-9.
Why bother: David Moore in the Dallas Morning News: “Forward Chris Webber has reportedly turned down a six-year, $56-million offer from the [Washington] Bullets, but the club remains confident it will be able to sign him.”
Looking back: On this day in 1984, Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears broke Jim Brown’s NFL rushing record of 12,312 yards in a 20-7 victory over the New Orleans Saints.
Looking back again: On this day in 1916, Georgia Tech routed Cumberland, 220-0, in the most lopsided college football game in history. John Heisman, after whom the trophy is named, was Georgia Tech’s coach.
Trivia answer: Rueben Mayes of Washington State, with 357 yards against Oregon in 1984.
Quotebook: U.S. team captain Lanny Wadkins on Curtis Strange faltering in Ryder Cup competition: “If it had to happen to anybody, it’s better that it happened to him. He can handle it because he’s mentally tougher.”