They Never Ask if He Has a Real Hunger for Game

Dave Newhouse of the Oakland Tribune reports that Pat Harlow, the former USC offensive lineman now with the Raiders, ate seven meals a day during the off-season, but not out of choice.

“It’s not fun,” the 6-foot-6 Harlow said.

He weighed 270 in March, but the Raiders wanted him to play at 292 pounds. So, he ate.

For breakfast, on a typical day, he had a dozen scrambled eggs, two cups of oatmeal and a chicken breast.

A midmorning snack consisted of two more eggs and two cans of tuna mixed with rice, followed by brunch--a one-pound chicken and a baked potato.

Rounding out the day were a midafternoon meal, dinner, then two more meals before retiring.

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Add eating binge: “Harlow, 28, is caught in a ‘Catch-22’ situation,” Newhouse wrote. “He needs the added weight to stay in the league, but the added weight puts pressure on a weak back.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the NBA record for points in one quarter?

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Run over: Denver defensive end Alfred Williams, discussing the Bronco challenge of stopping Pittsburgh Steeler running back Jerome Bettis before Sunday’s game: “We can’t let ‘the Bus’ take us to school.”

The Bus did just that, gaining 125 yards in 24 carries as the Steelers won, 35-24.

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You’re forgiven: New York Jet cornerback Otis Smith started a recent game against the Chicago Bears after he had told reporters he had been benched.

“I don’t believe I said that,” Smith said later. “If I said that, I misquoted myself.”

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Giant bias: Jet Coach Bill Parcells has gotten most of the publicity, but some New York Giant players think they still are the No. 1 team in the area.

“When you think of football in New York, you think of the Giants,” linebacker Jessie Armstead said. “I don’t care who’s coaching the Jets. Be realistic. It’s Giants Stadium, right?”

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Words of wisdom: From Wayne Gretzky of the New York Rangers: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.”

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FYI: Laker Coach Del Harris attended Milligan College in Tennessee, where he graduated cum laude in 1959 with a degree in religion.

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Looking back: On this day in 1932, USC defeated Notre Dame at the Coliseum, 13-0, completing a perfect regular season with a 9-0 record. The Trojans went on to beat Pittsburgh in the Rose Bowl for the national championship, 35-0.

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Trivia answer: George Gervin of the San Antonio Spurs, 33 points against the New Orleans Jazz on April 9, 1978.

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And finally: Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News came up with this impressive statistic on Detroit Lion running back Barry Sanders:

Before Sunday’s game against Miami, the average distance on his 12 touchdowns was 39.5 yards. He scored on a seven-yard run against the Dolphins.