Wrong Team May Be Called Sun Devils

When the Arizona basketball team declined to fly to Philadelphia to play St. Joseph’s on Jan. 13 because of bad weather on the East Coast, it got some adverse publicity. A sampling:

Gary Nuhn of the Dayton Daily News: “Suntan U. will next refuse to play at Oregon State or Washington State, insisting they will no longer schedule teams that don’t have major airports.”

Phil Martelli, St. Joseph’s coach: “They recruit McDonald’s All-Americans. I recruit guys who eat at McDonald’s, and they don’t want to compete.”

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Trivia time: Who are the only linemen to be named the most valuable players in the Super Bowl?

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Bragging rights: After Arizona defeated UCLA, 88-79, Saturday, Wildcat guard Reggie Geary was quoted in the Arizona Republic:

“Last year, we were the hunted team and they [UCLA] got us. Now, it’s UCLA being hunted. This is still our conference. We think we’re still the best team in the West. If UCLA didn’t feel that way before today, they have to now.”

Some Bruin bulletin board material for the next meeting between the teams at Pauley Pavilion on Feb. 15?

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Learning experience: Tight end John Mackey of the Baltimore Colts on his overconfident team being upset by the New York Jets in Super Bowl III:

“After that game, we could have played the Girl Scouts and we wouldn’t have taken it as a joke.”

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Dallas detractor: Bill Lyon of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that the Dallas Cowboys have a quality that sets them apart from previous winning teams in the Super Bowl:

“And that is detestability. Unlike the other great teams, this collection of posturing arrogants has virtually no redeeming value.”

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Heavy load: Scott Ostler in the San Francisco Chronicle on the Cowboys’ arrival in Phoenix for the Super Bowl:

“[Jerry] Jones, the lovable owner of the Cowboys, flew into town in his own cargo plane, the only aircraft big enough to accommodate his carry-on ego.”

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Still shocked: Super Bowl week always includes some idiotic questions from the media. Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman told Gene Collier of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that there is one that stands alone:

“Someone asked me after the first Super Bowl--I’ll never forget this--’What is there left to do?’ I was 26 years old. I just looked at the guy. ‘A lot,’ I said.”

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Future shock: Thomas Boswell in the Washington Post on interleague play: “Who says baseball can go 100 years between good ideas? . . . What a radical concept. Even Marge Schott, who has her doubts about the telephone and automobile, voted for it.”

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Trivia answer: Defensive tackle Randy White and defensive end Harvey Martin of the Cowboys shared the honor in 1978 after a 27-10 victory over the Denver Broncos, and defensive end Richard Dent of the Chicago Bears won it in 1986 after a 46-10 victory over the New England Patriots.

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Quotebook: Norm Clarke in the Rocky Mountain News: “Maybe Wayne Huizenga figured the only way to stiffen the [Miami] Dolphins’ defense was with Jimmy Johnson’s hair spray.”