Trying to Restore Brotherly Love

And you thought parking enforcement officers were the most efficient part of a municipal government.

After years of neglecting its fans, Philadelphia decided to crack down on the unruly among Eagle faithful. The city established an ad hoc court at Veterans Stadium for Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers to deal with drunken and disorderly fans.

Benjamin Franklin would have been proud.

Philadelphia fans are legendary. They were the first to boo the Easter bunny. They have pelted Santa Claus with snowballs. And two weeks ago during a Monday night game against the San Francisco 49ers, somebody fired a flare gun in the stands. Civic pride took a pummeling on national TV as cameras found more fights in the stands than on the field. One fan reported a broken ankle after a vicious attack.

“Enough,” the city’s leaders said.

Municipal Judge Seamus McCaffery was called in, and fans were warned that stepping out of line could prove costly. Season ticket holders were told they would forfeit their tickets if found guilty of misconduct or if they let disorderly friends use their seats. More police officers were also called in--a total of 135. That breaks down to one officer for every 498 fans--not good odds if you are wearing blue.

“A successful day will be no cases at all,” McCaffery said in a news conference before the game. “It’s all about putting stability back into what we consider Philadelphia’s great open spaces.”

Nonetheless, McCaffery was a busy man. By halftime, 15 arrests were reported, police said.

David Sharp of Dover, Del., was arrested as he went into the stadium with an open container of alcohol. When he was told not to bring the beverage in, he challenged security guards and was taken to the courtroom in the basement of the stadium.

With bloodshot eyes and so much swaying that officers had to help him stand in court, Sharp pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was fined about $200.

“I thank you for your time,” Sharp said, slurring his words as he was escorted from the courtroom and stadium. He was taken to the police district building to sober up.

“I thank you for your courtesy,” McCaffery responded.

No, Sharp was not wearing a Raider jacket.

HE’S BARRY, BARRY GOOD

With his 216 yards rushing against Indianapolis, Detroit’s Barry Sanders has moved into position for a run at a 2,000-yard season.

“I’ve always said he’d be a great back to watch, if he weren’t on the opposing team’s sideline,” Colt Coach Lindy Infante said. “He’s such a phenomenal player.”

Sanders has rushed for 1,427 yards with games remaining against Chicago (Thursday), at Miami (Dec. 7), at Minnesota (Dec. 14) and the New York Jets (Dec. 21).

Sanders would need to gain 573 yards, an average of 143 a game, to finish with 2,000. Eric Dickerson of the Rams rushed for 2,105 yards in 1984 and O.J. Simpson of the Buffalo Bills had 2,003 in 1973.

For Sanders to break Dickerson’s NFL record, he would need 679 yards, an average of 170 a game.

SHOWBOAT AWARD

Washington quarterback Gus Frerotte was taken to a hospital Sunday night because of a self-inflicted neck injury.

In his exuberance after scoring a touchdown on a one-yard scramble against the New York Giants, Frerotte head-butted the padded concrete wall that surrounds the playing field at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium.

Frerotte returned briefly to the game, but was taken to Prince George’s County General Hospital as a precautionary measure. X-rays were negative, and he was diagnosed with a sprained neck.

“I was fired up, I was excited,” Frerotte said. “It was a stupid thing to do.”

BAD OF YOU TO KNOW THAT

* Department of “Give Me the Damn Ball”: The Jets’ Keyshawn Johnson, No. 1 overall pick in the 1996 NFL draft, had the best day of his pro career with nine catches for 104 yards against Minnesota. His previous best games were eight receptions and 94 yards.

* The attendance of 64,609 was the 23rd consecutive sellout for the Rams, who have played to capacity crowds since they moved to St. Louis in 1995.

* In their 22 years in the league, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have not won a game in 17 tries when the temperature is 42 or lower. Game-time temperature Sunday was 28 with a wind-chill of six degrees. “I think the weather will be talked about until we can win one,” quarterback Trent Dilfer said.

* The New England Patriots are 6-0 when they score first. The Miami Dolphins have two touchdowns in 28 opening possessions in two years under Coach Jimmy Johnson.

* The game was the first of three in 11 days for Tennessee. It plays Dallas on Thursday and Cincinnati on Dec. 4.

* Minnesota was 5-0 outside the NFC’s Central Division before Sunday’s loss. It was the Vikings’ first visit to the Meadowlands to play the Jets; they hadn’t played a regular-season game at New York since 1979, which is about 10 years after “The Joe Namath Show” was canceled.

* The Eagles have won four of their last five and seven in a row at Philadelphia against Pittsburgh. The Steelers still have never beaten the Eagles at 26-year-old Veterans Stadium, and Philadelphia remains the only NFL team not to score more than 24 points in a game this season.

* The Dallas Cowboys are 0-4 at Lambeau Field. Dallas had the same number of penalties--11--as first downs. How ‘bout them Cowboys!

* Jim Harbaugh played for the first time since breaking his hand in a fight with NBC broadcaster Jim Kelly last month. Kelly, the former Buffalo Bill quarterback, was announcing Sunday’s game for NBC.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

THE PLAYMAKERS

RUSHING

*--*

Player, Team No. Yds. TD BARRY SANDERS, Lions 24 216 2 DORSEY LEVENS, Packers 33 190 1 RAYMONT HARRIS, Bears 33 116 1 NATRONE MEANS, Jaguars 19 96 1

*--*

PASSING

*--*

Player, Team Att. Comp. Yds. TD DAN MARINO, Dolphins 60 38 389 0 BRAD JOHNSON, Vikings 35 24 312 3 KORDELL STEWART, Steelers 43 20 294 2 TODD COLLINS, Bills 40 25 286 2 KERRY COLLINS, Panthers 30 23 286 1 MARK BRUNELL, Jaguars 33 20 286 1 WARREN MOON, Seahawks 37 20 248 1 TRENT DILFER, Buccaneers 33 19 247 1 BOBBY HOYING, Eagles 31 15 246 2 STEVE YOUNG, 49ers 30 20 245 2 BRETT FAVRE, Packers 35 22 203 4

*--*

RECEIVING

*--*

Player, Team No. Yds. TD JAKE REED, Vikings 8 150 2 MICHAEL WESTBROOK, Redskins 9 125 0 IRVING FRYAR, Eagles 7 116 1 ROB MOORE, Cardinals 8 112 0 O.J. McDUFFIE, Dolphins 9 110 0 KEENAN McCARDELL, Jaguars 8 109 0 JIMMY SMITH, Jaguars 5 106 0 QUINN EARLY, Bills 8 103 2

*--*

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--Compiled by Jay Christensen