While You’re at It, Use Quarterback in Prevent Defense

New York Giant Coach Jim Fassel has received a good deal of criticism for using star cornerback Jason Sehorn to return kicks in an NFL exhibition game in which the former USC player suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Bill Parcells, the New York Jets’ coach, defended Fassel.

“You can’t coach scared,” he said. “If you start protecting your players, you’ll lose every game. Look, when you have a weapon, you have to use him. This guy [Sehorn] could make a difference in a game. You’ve got to use your best guys.”

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Add Sehorn: Linebacker Corey Miller’s reaction to learning that his teammate was out for the year: “It was like the president had been shot or something. It was total disbelief.”

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Trivia time: Who is the only golfer to win the U.S. Junior Amateur and the U.S. Open?

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Ram repartee: St. Louis Ram Coach Dick Vermeil was not impressed when disgruntled fullback Craig “Ironhead” Heyward asked to be released.

“You’ve got to sell a lot of Zest to make his kind of money,” Vermeil said of Heywood, who has done several TV commercials for the soap.

Earlier, when Heyward showed up at mini-camp weighing nearly 300 pounds, Vermeil suggested he “cut the teeth off his fork.”

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Gridiron madness: Tickets went on sale this week at Michigan for next Saturday’s season opener at Notre Dame. How can that be when the game is sold out?

The tickets are for Crisler Arena, where the game will be shown on four new video scoreboards. Students get in free. Tickets are $10 for others.

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Political fallout: The roof over the Arizona Diamondbacks’ $354-million Bank One Ballpark leaks, which prompted Bay Area comedy writer Jerry Perisho’s comment to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Tom FitzGerald: “Around the league it’s known as the Kenneth Starr of domed stadiums.”

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One at a time: The Houston Astros lead the National League in scoring, yet the Astros are the only team in the majors without a grand slam this season.

Busy beat: Rick Hummel, the baseball beat writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, has mixed feelings over his hectic year in covering Mark McGwire’s home run odyssey.

“I think it’s one of those deals where you look back after the season and you’ll have a better idea whether you enjoyed it or not. I don’t feel I’m part of history. I’m just a conduit,” he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Paul Meyer.

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Trivia answer: Johnny Miller, in 1964 and 1973.

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And finally: John McHale, Detroit Tiger president, has a novel explanation why his team has not measured up to expectations this season. The Tigers are last in the AL Central Division.

“We accidentally won too many games last year. We really weren’t fundamentally a .500 club last year. It was heady and enjoyable when it happened, but it would have been delusional for us to think we had improved by 26 games over the previous season.”