This Owner’s Prediction May Be Half-Cooked

Washington Redskin owner Jack Kent Cooke on his team’s surprising 7-1 record before Buffalo beat Washington on Sunday:

“I’m so bloody happy, I can hardly contain myself. We know we’re going to the playoffs. That’s as inevitable as tomorrow, but not quite as imminent. I think we’ll be in the Super Bowl next year.”

Easy, Jack. Your team still has games remaining against Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Dallas, twice.

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Trivia time: What is the record for most points in a game by a UCLA football team?

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But when? After the New York Jets beat the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday for their first victory, rookie wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson said:

“I said we weren’t going to go 0-16. I’ll put my foot in my mouth again and say we’re going to win some more.”

How does 2-14 sound?

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Out of his league? Michael Jordan endorsed Terry Francona for the Philadelphia Phillies’ managerial job. Francona, who managed Jordan in the White Sox farm system, got the job.

“Now that’s something you don’t see every day,” wrote Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune. “A team that was 28 games under .500 taking advice from a .203 hitter.”

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Sir Charles’ revenge: After torching the Phoenix Suns for 20 points and 33 rebounds Saturday, Houston’s Charles Barkley admitted that he was motivated against his former team:

“They said a lot of things behind my back. I think I can still play.”

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Come again? Carolina Panther linebacker Kevin Greene on why he cut his hair before the season:

“Primarily, I was trying to wash my hands of three years with Pittsburgh.”

Your hair, Kevin, not your hands.

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Bottom line: British Columbia Lion President Mike McCarthy, on whether the Canadian Football League needs to discuss steroid use among its players:

“To me it’s not even an issue. If there is someone using them, it’s their body and they’ll suffer the consequences in the future.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1966, Philadelphia’s Timmy Brown returned kickoffs 93 and 90 yards for touchdowns as the Eagles defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 24-23.

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Trivia answer: The Bruins defeated Stanford, 72-0, in 1954 on their way to the school’s only national championship in football.

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And finally: Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Wayne Gretzky of the New York Rangers and his wife, Janet, have been able to find “satisfactory shelter” in Manhattan.

“They reportedly settled on a modest little penthouse--3,000 square feet, with a three-bedroom condo and separate studio apartment--that runs a mere $14,000 per month.

“No word whether the price includes utilities.”