It May Take Time to Recover After Making Recovery

Ever wonder what goes on under a pile of players pursuing a fumble? ESPN’s Greg Garber tried to get to the bottom of this body mass by talking to current and former players.

Said Kansas City linebacker Derrick Thomas: “Imagine being trapped on the subway, and something happens and everybody wants to get out, but you’re the person pinned to the door.”

Said Larry Csonka, Hall of Fame fullback for the Miami Dolphins: “To tell you the truth, the only thing I remember after 20 years of retirement is that it smells very bad in there.”

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Trivia time: How many Heisman Trophy winners have played or will play in the Rose Bowl game?

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Remember when? John Robinson’s first staff at USC in 1976 included two coaches who are now cross-town rivals--UCLA Coach Bob Toledo and recently hired USC Coach Paul Hackett.

Others on that first staff were Marv Goux, Foster Andersen, John Jackson, Don Lindsey, Hudson Houck, Skip Husbands and Norv Turner, now the coach of the Washington Redskins. Houck is the offensive line coach of the Dallas Cowboys.

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Add USC: From the inception of USC football in 1888 until 1985, USC fired two coaches, Elmer (Gloomy Gus) Henderson after the 1924 season and Jeff Cravath in 1950.

In the last 11 years, the school’s administrators have fired three coaches: Ted Tollner in 1986, Larry Smith in 1992 and John Robinson this month.

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Basic advice: According to Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press, the motto of the U.S. basketball “Dream Team” in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona was: “Don’t forget which shoe company pays you.

“On the other hand, the motto of the U.S. hockey ‘Dream Team’ in the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, will be: ‘Don’t forget your teeth.’ ”

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No ho, ho, ho: The Montreal Gazette reported that Canadien defenseman Dave Manson needed surgery to remove a Christmas tree needle that got stuck in his ear.

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Prophecy: A man who graduated from a Michigan high school 60 years ago contributed $20,000 to build bathrooms on the visitors’ side of the football field.

Said Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune: “If you build it, they will go.”

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FYI: The last time it rained during a Rose Bowl game was 1955, when USC played Ohio State. The Buckeyes won, 20-7.

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Looking back: On this day in 1957, the Detroit Lions routed the Cleveland Browns, 59-14, to win the NFL championship.

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Trivia answer: Seven--Frank Sinkwich, Georgia, 1943; O.J. Simpson, USC, 1969; Jim Plunkett, Stanford, 1971; Archie Griffin, Ohio State, 1975 and ‘76; Charles White, USC, 1980; Desmond Howard, Michigan, 1992, and Charles Woodson, Michigan, 1998.

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And finally: Seve Ballesteros, defending his decision to force an injured Miguel Angel Martin off the European Ryder Cup team:

“You do not go to the Ryder Cup to participate; you go to compete.”