Mental Preparation Remains a Big Part of the Game

St. Louis Ram Coach Dick Vermeil reportedly is not the workaholic he was when he coached the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1970s.

Jim Murray, then the general manager of the Eagles--and no relation to the late Times columnist of the same name--told Bill Lyon of the Philadelphia Inquirer: “We were really worried about Dick, the way he was driving himself, shut off from the world. So finally Carol [Vermeil’s wife] and I convinced him to see the team psychiatrist.

“He goes kicking and screaming all the way, and he comes back a while later, and his jaw is out to here, you know how he is, and Carol asks him, ‘So how did it go?’

“And Dick says, ‘Criminy, it’d take me a good week, at least, to straighten that guy out.’ ”

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Trivia time: Which is the last school to be shut out in the Rose Bowl game?

Bombs away! Woody Paige of the Denver Post with some millennium predictions:

* “Callaway Golf Company will introduce the new Big Bang club--a plutonium driver that hits the ball 3,000 yards and causes a mushroom-and-sauteed-onion cloud.

* “The San Francisco 49ers and the Philadelphia 76ers will merge and become the 125ers.

* “Bison Dele will change his name to Buffalo Delicatessen.”

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Nothing happened: Skip Bayless in the Chicago Tribune: “Having covered 24 straight Super Bowls, I know hype. I’m greatly relieved to report that Y2K was the most hyped non-event in the 20th century.”

Bias? Jim Armstrong in the Denver Post: “The best joke of the 20th century? Try ESPN ranking Bill Russell as the century’s 18th-greatest athlete.

“It couldn’t have anything to do with Russell’s refusal to be interviewed by the network, could it? Didn’t think so.”

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Wait a minute: Looking back on some memorable quotes of the 20th century:

* George Rogers, former running back for the New Orleans Saints who won the Heisman Trophy in 1980, was asked if he’d set any goals for himself the next season:

“Yes,” he replied. “I want to rush for 1,000 yards or 1,500 yards, whichever comes first.”

* And, this classic from Yogi Berra: “If you don’t go to people’s funerals, they won’t come to yours.”

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Let’s get it straight: Railing against ESPN’s choice of Michael Jordan as athlete of the century, ahead of Babe Ruth, Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News points out:

“One of the Ruth myths is that he was just this all-or-nothing swinger who struck out a ton, a better Dave Kingman. But in his 22-year career, Babe never struck out more than 93 times in a season. Mark McGwire air-conditioned his 70 homers in ’98 with 155 whiffs.”

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Trivia answer: Iowa, losing to Washington, 28-0, in 1982.

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And finally: Bud Geracie in the San Jose Mercury News: “Quote of the year goes to Sandy Alderson, who said upon hearing the umpires might walk off the job: ‘That’s either a threat to be ignored, or an offer to be accepted.’ ”