Behind a Line of Swiss Cheese, He Felt Like Sack Lunch

Former Philadelphia Eagle and Ram quarterback Ron Jaworski, telling Bill Lyon of the Philadelphia Inquirer how it felt to play behind some porous Eagle offensive lines:

“I remember playing the Giants and Lawrence Taylor saw who was blocking for me, and he was shoving his own guys out of the way so he could get a running start at me.

“That was bad enough, but he was laughing the whole time.”

Jaworski’s streak of starting 116 consecutive games was broken by Green Bay’s Brett Favre on Sunday.

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Trivia time: Which Pacific 10 coach holds the record for most appearances in the Rose Bowl?

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Habit forming: Florida State receiver Peter Warrick wrote a letter of apology that was printed in the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper for his role in a recent shopping scandal.

Said comedy writer Jerry Perisho: “The next morning he went to the newspaper rack, dropped in a quarter and took 20 copies.”

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Mr. Grump: Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News on gloomy Knick Coach Jeff Van Gundy:

“There are days, even a week into the season, when Van Gundy makes Pat Riley look like the life of the party.”

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Target practice: Reader Tom Ryugo to the San Francisco Chronicle: “In order to give Ryan Leaf time to cool down, the San Diego Chargers are sending him on an all-expenses paid hunting trip--with Bobby Knight.”

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Romo’s world: Jim Armstrong in the Denver Post: “Meet [Denver Bronco] Bill Romanowski, the most reviled, hated and despised man in the NFL, bless his heart.

“Come on, admit it. You think he’s nuts. Certifiable. Whacked. Belongs in a rubber locker room with diet pills and muscleman milk shakes. Well, let me tell you something, buddy. You got it all right.”

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Bored, perhaps? Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, recalling the crowds when he wrestled in Japan:

“If you did something ‘bad,’ they didn’t do anything--they just sat there. Here you’re supposed to be a villain, and they’re still handing you a bouquet of flowers.”

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Trivia answer: Don James of Washington with 14. UCLA’s Terry Donahue is runner-up with 13.

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And finally: Linda Robertson writes in the Miami Herald that during the off-season, Tim Hardaway and some of his teammates bluntly told Miami Heat Coach Riley that his constant probing at players’ weak spots was too painful.

“He’s still hard-nosed, still brutal to everybody,” Hardaway said. “But we made him understand some things about this team. In return, we’ve got to give our all and when we don’t, he’s going to get on us.

“And we’re expected to get on each other. It’s not about hurting people’s feelings. It’s about giving a boost.”

Doesn’t sound as if Riley has changed that much.