Walker Turned One-Man Gang Against UCLA

Doak Walker, the famed Southern Methodist and Detroit Lion running back who died Sunday, played against UCLA at the Coliseum on Oct. 25, 1947.

He scored the only touchdown and kicked the extra point as the Mustangs won, 7-0.

Times writer Al Wolf wrote that Walker “caromed off Don Paul from the one-foot line [to score] early in the fourth quarter.”

Walker gained only 51 yards in 22 carries and completed one of three passes for 12 yards. UCLA’s Paul went on to become an outstanding linebacker for the Rams.

More Walker: Doak was his middle name. His given first name was Ewell.

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Trivia time: Who holds the Pacific 10 Conference record for most touchdown passes in a game?

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Machine comparison: Cincinnati Red shortstop Barry Larkin: “Not to take anything away from those boys [Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa] because what they are doing is incredible, but [Cal] Ripken is the man.

“You can’t even do what he did [in playing 2,632 consecutive games] on Nintendo. You can hit 65 home runs on Nintendo.”

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Bleak future: John Millea in the Star Tribune of Minneapolis on the Twins’ sixth consecutive losing season:

“Lately the Twins have become synonymous with most of baseball’s negatives. A small-town market. A miserly payroll. And season after season of losing baseball with no improvement in sight.”

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Ready to erupt: Ryan Leaf, the San Diego Chargers’ interception-prone rookie quarterback, is supposed to appear on “The Tonight Show” tonight with Jay Leno.

His appearance was scheduled before his recent profanity-laced tirade in the Chargers’ dressing room. Leno should be careful, lest he asks Leaf a question he doesn’t like.

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Quandary: Tampa Bay Coach Tony Dungy on fullback Mike Alsott’s alarming number of fumbles:

“He has lost a lot of balls in the middle of piles. We’ve got to do something about it. What that is, I don’t know.”

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Nothing to crow about: New York Giant safety Tito Wooten on his mental errors in a game Sept. 21 against Dallas: “It’s the crow’s nest up here,” he said, referring to his head. “I don’t think I have enough crows.”

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Stanford sieve: The Cardinal ranks 109th in total defense and 106th in scoring defense, according to the latest NCAA Division I-A statistics.

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Looking back: On this day in 1941, Joe Louis knocked out Lou Nova in the sixth round at the Polo Grounds in New York to retain the world heavyweight title.

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Trivia answer: Pat Barnes of California, eight against Arizona in 1996, a four-overtime game.

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And finally: Duck Guy has been censored for his “gratuitous violence” against mascots of Oregon’s football opponents.

After meeting with Oregon officials, Scott Spaan, a.k.a. Duck Guy, agreed to no longer smash stuffed toys against the concrete every time the Ducks score.

It ends the mascot-slamming tradition that Spaan has carried on at every Oregon game since the 1994 Rose Bowl season.