Raw Deal or Not, Wolverine Wares Hot Commodities

On Friday, the day after Michigan’s 21-16 victory over Washington State in the Rose Bowl, customers lined up in downtown Ann Arbor to buy national championship merchandise.

As soon as one store opened, fans were snapping up T-shirts, sweat shirts and caps faster than clerks could unpack the items.

The zealous Michigan fans should have gotten the items at half price considering that the Wolverines had to share the national championship with Nebraska.

Michigan was voted No. 1 in the Associated Press poll, but only second to Nebraska in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll.

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Trivia time: Which school won the national championship in the inaugural AP poll in 1936?

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Come again? We should have known it was going to be a long day at the Cotton Bowl when CBS announcer Gus Johnson said during the opening play: “There’s a short kickoff taken at the goal line.”

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Forgettable quote: St. Louis Ram quarterback Tony Banks, speaking to Sports Illustrated last off-season: “Remember, when we get to the playoffs, you heard it here first.”

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What’s your name: From Mark Kreidler of ESPN SportsZone: “In what could be a sign that Clarence Weatherspoon’s stock has declined somewhat in Philadelphia, 76er Coach Larry Brown said he did not play Weatherspoon in the first half of a game against Miami because he . . . well, forgot.”

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Ouch! Tom Fitzgerald of the San Francisco Chronicle quotes a reader as saying, “Glad to see the skier Picabo Street is back on the slopes after one year out with a knee injury.

“I always fear that she will be seriously hurt and placed in the intensive care unit. My fear, actually, is the headline that will result. ‘Picabo? ICU.’ ”

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Honest appraisal: Phoenix Coyote enforcer Jim McKenzie, who played five games with a broken bone in his leg: “It’s how they want us . . . big, strong and dumb.”

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Astonishing: From the Vent column in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “It seems to be Christmas everywhere. I was out on the golf course today and saw a partridge on a par-3.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1972, the Lakers won their 32nd consecutive game, beating the Cavaliers, 113-103, at Cleveland.

The streak would reach an NBA-record 33 before it ended in Milwaukee on Jan. 9.

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Trivia answer: Minnesota. Washington was the highest ranked Pacific Coast Conference school, ranked No. 5.

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And finally: Bernie Lincicome of the Chicago Tribune bestowing his annual “Bernie “ awards for special achievements in sports. Among this year’s honorees:

* “The ‘Nick Faldo is No Longer the Leader in the Clubhouse’ Award--to Colin Montgomerie, called by American golfer Fred Funk ‘the jerk of the world.’

* “The ‘Legs Are the First To Go’ Award to BBC television for aiming its cameras above the waist to avoid showing a teenager’s underwear at Wimbledon.”