No Wonder These Guys Were Sore

Steve Rosenbloom in the Chicago Tribune: “The Pittsburgh Penguins had just returned from a grueling road trip, one made even tougher by news of the team filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and some of the players wanted to stop by the Civic Center training room for a whirlpool.

“Except that the motors for the whirlpools had been repossessed.”

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Trivia time: Which conference has the best won-lost percentage in bowl games?

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Aw, let her do it: Ron Rapoport in the Chicago Sun-Times: “I am not making this up. Marge Schott wants to keep one of her limited partner shares in the Reds so she can continue to take Schottzie 02 on the field before games.”

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Nothing to rave about: The Ravens are 12-27-1 since moving from Cleveland to Baltimore, including last Sunday’s 45-19 loss to Jacksonville in which they had five turnovers, committed nine penalties and had a punt blocked for a touchdown.

Asked John Eisenberg of the Baltimore Sun, “How many days until pitchers and catchers report?”

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Raising the bar: UCLA Coach Bob Toledo, in an interview with Mike Kern of the Philadelphia Daily News, said the Bruins’ ultimate goal is to win the national championship:

“I’m not saying we’re going to win it this year, next year, or in the next 20 years. But we’re going to try for it each and every year.”

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Wrong one to miss: Tomas Sanchez, who plays for Arlington Heights High in Fort Worth, kicked two field goals last weekend to give him a national record of 45 for his prep career.

His team, however, lost, 27-26, when Sanchez missed a conversion kick with 1:02 left.

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No matches: Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej will use the sun and a magnifying glass to light the flame for next month’s Asian Games in Bangkok.

The flame--providing it lights--will be kept at Bangkok’s Grand Palace until Dec. 6, the opening day of the games.

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Looking back: On this day in 1931, USC defeated Stanford, 19-0, at the Coliseum before 93,000. The Trojans went on to win the national championship.

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Trivia answer: The Pacific 10, 87-73-6, .542.

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And finally: Former Chicago Blackhawk player Dennis Hull on playing golf with former Montreal great Maurice “Rocket” Richard:

“He uses those French-Canadian golf balls. They go 200 yards down the middle and then they separate.”