This Decision’s a Snap: Buddy Can Take a Hike

Buddy Ryan, Arizona Cardinal coach, who once declared “You’ve got a winner in town,” is now being advised to leave town.

His Cardinals are 3-8 following Sunday’s 27-7 loss to the expansion Carolina Panthers.

“The question no longer is if Buddy should depart,” wrote Joe Gilmartin in the Phoenix Gazette, “but when, and by what means of transportation [as soon as possible and on a rail are my choices].”

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Trivia time: What is the largest crowd to watch an NBA game?

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Cover up? Dave Newhouse of the Oakland Tribune on the image of the Dallas Cowboys:

“Dallas sees itself as John the Baptist with a drawl. The Cowboys portray a squeaky-clean image like the big person himself, Tom Landry. However, it’s all so misleading.

“‘North Dallas Forty’ wasn’t written about the Mavericks or Rangers. The ‘Boys just work harder to sweep the dirt under the rug, that’s all.”

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Skirt sensation: John Dimoff of Portland, Ore., a qualifier for the U.S. Olympic marathon trials, has an unusual claim to fame.

Dimoff, 24, ran a world record for a mile earlier this year in the Portland Highland Games. His time of 4:20.98 is the fastest ever run . . . while wearing a kilt.

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Please leave: From David Letterman: “I’m stunned by this. The Cleveland Browns are moving to Baltimore, the Houston Oilers are going to Nashville, and the New York Jets, unfortunately, are staying right here.”

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Look in a mirror: New York Knick guard Gary Grant on the reasons he didn’t develop consistently as a Clipper:

“Let’s see if I can name them all. First, there was Gene Shue, then Don Casey and Mike Schuler. There’s Larry Brown, Mack Calvin, that’s five, Bob Weiss, six. There’s one more. Oh, Bill Fitch.”

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Image issue: Dan LeBatard of the Miami Herald on the acquisition of Alonzo Mourning: “He makes the Heat instantly intimidating--impressive when you consider one of his team’s starting guards is named Bimbo [Coles] and the other is named Sasha [Danilovic].”

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FYI: Since 1980, UCLA, under Coach Terry Donahue, has a 10-5-1 record against USC in football.

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Looking back: On this day in 1985, Ron Brown of the Los Angeles Rams returned two two kickoffs for touchdowns--tying an NFL record--in a 34-17 victory over the Green Bay Packers.

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Trivia answer: 61,983 at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich. for a Boston-Detroit game on Jan. 29, 1988.

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Quotebook: Nick Canepa in the San Diego Union Tribune: “No truth--no truth at all--to the rumor that the jury that hung in the Don King trial was made up of Nevada boxing judges.”