Arizona State Flips Luster Off Victory

Michael Mayo in the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, on how some Arizona State football players reacted after the Sun Devils had defeated Miami last Saturday, 23-12.

“ ‘We came into your Orange Bowl and kicked your butts,’ said ASU defensive end Vince Amey, taunting the few remaining die-hards.

“Center Randy Leaphart shot the bird to the jeering crowd. Moments later, a group of Sun Devil assistant coaches came by and added a few insults of their own.

“ ‘Real class,’ a Miami fan shouted.”

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Comment: classless.

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Trivia time: Who were the first consensus football All-Americans for USC and UCLA?

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Thanks a bunch: Chicago White Sox shortstop Ozzie Guillen, who still has the binoculars that were tossed at teammate Albert Belle by a fan June 3 on his return to Cleveland:

“They’re good ones. I’m going to watch the bullfights with them.”

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Enough already: John Krzynowek, vice president of marketing for the Tommy Armour golf company, thinks club heads may be reaching their size limit.

“You put some of those heads on the end of a club, and they look like a Volkswagen on a stick,” he said.

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A real test: Tom FitzGerald of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that ballroom dancing has moved closer to becoming an Olympic sport. Greg Brown of Sacramento is containing his enthusiasm, saying, “Now, if cross-country ballroom dancing were an event, then I’d watch.”

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What did you find? Tennessee Oiler Coach Jeff Fisher, on cornerback Tomur Barnes’ unnecessary roughness penalty for shoving an opponent’s head into the ground while getting up off a pile:

“And we had an MRI on Barnes’ head to see what’s inside.”

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Slow and slower: Dodger announcer Vin Scully, on knuckleball pitcher Tom Candiotti: “The speed gun on [him] is like an hourglass.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1969, USC opened the season by defeating Nebraska at Lincoln, 31-21. The Trojans had a 10-0-1 record that season climaxed by a 10-3 victory over Michigan in the Rose Bowl game.

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Trivia answer: USC quarterback Mort Kaer in 1926, and UCLA end Burr Baldwin in 1946.

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And finally: The late Richie Ashburn, in his final season, won a 24-foot powerboat in 1962 for being the woeful New York Mets’ most valuable player.

He docked the boat in Ocean City, N.J. It sank.

“But it didn’t just sink,” Ashburn related. “The sucker took five or six days to go down. So they dragged it up and I sold it. Oh, and the guy I sold it to? His check bounced.”