The Heady Advice Is the Same, but the Technique Is Different

Houston linebacker Michael Barrow commenting to John Henderson of the Denver Post on the contrasting coaching styles of Buddy Ryan, former Oiler defensive coordinator, and current Oiler Coach Jeff Fisher:

“You know, with Buddy, when I first came in, the speech before the game was like, ‘OK, rip their head off and bring the helmet to me with the head in it.’

“Then, the next year with Jeff Fisher, it’s like, ‘Well, if you have to rip their head off, this is the proper technique you need to use to rip their head off.’ ”

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Trivia time: Which college football team holds the NCAA Division I-A record for the longest winning streak?

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Come again? Miami Dolphin quarterback Dan Marino when asked by reporters, “Do you think some of your records might never be broken? They seem pretty Ruthian.”

“Ruthian? You mean the candy bar?”

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Familiar look? Pittsburgh Steeler Coach Bill Cowher was nostalgic about what was probably the Steelers’ final visit to Cleveland last Sunday.

“The Dawg pound. To me, that’s people,” he said. “There’s probably a lawyer or a doctor over there dressed like dogs with bones in their mouths.”

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Ho hum: The Browns moving to Baltimore is really old news. The St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore in 1954, becoming the Orioles.

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Perspective: Iowa State basketball Coach Tim Floyd commenting to Robes Patton of the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel on the presumed stress of coaching:

“Coaches don’t have any more stress than anybody else in the world. Stress to me is wanting to go to McDonald’s to get two Quarter Pounders and not being able to afford one.”

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Saving virtue: Frank Brickowski, a former Charlotte Hornet player, now playing for the Seattle SuperSonics, on Charlotte president Spencer Stolpen:

“Spencer doesn’t know anything about basketball. But if you need to know where to eat, he can show you a good restaurant.”

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FYI: Only three schools in the Big Ten Conference have winning bowl records--Penn State, 19-10-2; Purdue, 4-1, and Northwestern, 1-0.

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Looking back: On this day in 1975, UCLA defeated USC, 25-22, earning an invitation to the Rose Bowl, where the Bruins upset top-ranked Ohio State, 23-10. UCLA had lost to Ohio State earlier in the season, 41-20.

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Trivia answer: Oklahoma, 47, from 1953 to 1957.

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Quotebook: Blackie Sherrod in the Dallas Morning News: “Year 2020 A.D. Jerry Jones? He’ll own Cuba after using $1 billion from Cowboy sale to finance revolution.”