Forget No. 400, Robinson Says No. 179 Is Top

Grambling Coach Eddie Robinson notched one of his 400 victories in the Rose Bowl.

In 1968, the Tigers came West from Louisiana for the first time to play in the Pasadena Bowl, a short-lived successor to the popular Junior Rose Bowl.

Grambling defeated Sacramento State, 34-7, before 34,127. Their quarterback was James Harris, later of the Rams.

After the game, Robinson said, “We wanted to win for the pride of Louisiana. We received a telegram of encouragement from neighboring Southwest Louisiana State, an all-white school. It made me very proud. This was our biggest game ever, playing out here in the Rose Bowl.”

It was victory No. 179.

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Add Robinson: After No. 400 Saturday, he said, “The real record I have set for over 50 years is the fact that I had one job and one wife. I haven’t blocked or tackled anybody. The record belongs to everybody, all the former players, all the assistant coaches and all the loyal fans that have supported Grambling throughout the years.”

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Trivia time: Which coach is closest to Robinson in college football victories?

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Think about it: For Colorado’s Rick Neuheisel, one of football’s younger coaches, to reach Robinson’s total of 400 victories, he would have to average 10 a season until he’s 74.

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Weak event: Runners from Kenya are good bets to win Olympic gold medals in middle- and long-distance events, but their chances in the pole vault would seem slim.

The Kenyan national record is 13 feet 11 1/4 inches. That’s not bad for a California high school vaulter, but not much by world standards.

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Easy way out: Ryan Bowen spent nearly the entire season with the Florida Marlins on the disabled list because of a ruptured patellar tendon, a serious knee injury. He was hurt in a charity basketball game for the Jose Rijo Foundation in December.

“Next time, I’d rather just give a tax write-off,” he said.

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The Brown boys: On a day of shockers in college football last Saturday, the Brown brothers, Mack and Watson, provided two of them.

Mack Brown’s North Carolina team shocked ninth-ranked Virginia, 22-17, and Watson Brown’s Alabama Birmingham team beat Wofford, 28-0, for its first victory of the season, also its first with Watson as coach.

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Imbalance: Todd Phipers of the Denver Post notes that Pat Riley, with an estimated $30-million contract to coach the Miami Heat, “will be the only coach in the NBA who makes more than all his players.”

And that’s not even counting his $300 per diem.

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Hard hitter: The recent death of Angelo Brovelli, who went from St. Mary’s to become a single-wing quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1933 and 1934, recalls his reason for retiring from football to become a rancher in Northern California.

“I tried to stop Bronko Nagurski,” he said. “Ever hear of him? He educated me. When I tackled him, it felt like my shoulder was sitting on my hip.”

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Trivia answer: The late Paul (Bear) Bryant, with 323 at Maryland, Kentucky, Texas A&M; and Alabama.

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Quotebook: Fiona McIntosh, British fencing captain, on the heat and humidity anticipated during the Atlanta Olympics: “The city itself is fine, but it is utterly revolting to train and compete in. Barcelona was bad enough. This will be hell.”