If Jaguars Turn It Around, Writer Might Be Catalyst

Woody Paige of the Denver Post gloating over the Broncos’ 37-24 victory over Jacksonville:

“I thought I saw a puddy cat. The Denver Broncos were scheduled to play the mean, mad, mighty Jaguars of Jacksonville on Sunday. But a bunch of kitties showed up.

“You may have heard that the Jaguars are supposed to go to the Super Bowl. They should buy their tickets now.

“The Broncos proved they are vastly superior to the Jaguars, who don’t even deserve to be called Jagwads anymore. How about Jacksonville Cat Litter?”

*

Trivia time: What is the NCAA Division I-A record for the most consecutive wins over an opponent in an uninterrupted series?

*

First things first: Bobby Thomson, whose much-publicized home run beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1951 and sent the Giants into World Series, was asked if his team could beat the 1998 New York Yankees.

“We couldn’t beat the 1951 Yankees,” he said.

*

Losers league: Art Spander in the Oakland Tribune: “Let’s admit it, the NFL has evolved into a lot of dogmeat franchises and avoidable games, a situation reflected in television ratings falling faster than Steve DeBerg under a heavy blitz.

“There are what, six teams in the whole damn league worthy of turning us into couch potatoes? And two of them, Niners and Packers, will be playing Sunday back there where people are so uncool as to wear Styrofoam cheese slabs on their noggins.”

*

Still grungy: From comedy writer Earl Hochman: “Although new Dodger Manager Davey Johnson has banned wearing facial hair and earrings, at least he’s not depriving the players of their favorite practice--spitting and scratching.”

*

The main man: Tony Kornheiser of the Washington Post on the NBA lockout: “NBC’s Dick Ebersol is the most important player in this game, not David Stern or Billy Hunter.

“One morning Ebersol is going to wake up and want to see Michael Jordan play basketball on TV. Unlike the rest of us, he can make it happen.”

*

Wait a minute: Percy Allen, writing in the Seattle Times, on USC: “The receivers believed to be the strength of the team have underachieved. Even [R.J.] Soward. He has just 26 catches for 431 yards and six touchdowns.”

Yo, Percy: Soward’s six touchdowns tie him for second among Pacific 10 receivers.

*

For the record: In Monday’s Briefing, the Rams won 11 consecutive games in 1969, not 1968.

*

Trivia answer: Notre Dame over Navy, 34 games, 1964 to 1997.

*

And finally: Before the Yokohama Bay Stars, once perennial losers, won the Japan Series--equivalent of the World Series--from the Seibu Lions, the team had to win the Central League pennant.

A fan was so excited about his team’s success that he jumped off a bridge into a river to celebrate--and drowned.