NFL Prospect Did Legwork for the Scouts

Dallas McNeil, a University of Montana punter, reasoned that he would need a gimmick to get an NFL scout to come to Missoula to check him out.

His gimmick worked. Scouts from Washington and Atlanta came, and the Falcons signed him.

The gimmick: He mailed a three-page letter to the three NFL teams he wanted to play for--including St. Louis--along with the left leg from a mannequin.

Each letter said: “I would give my left leg to play for your team.”

*

Trivia time: Who holds the NBA playoff record for three-point field goals in a game?

*

Could have been: After it was reported that a Michigan couple, Chad and Alisha Blondeel, named their newborn son Espen because Chad is a fanatic for ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” Greg Cote of the Miami Herald wrote:

“Someday, the boy will thank God his dad didn’t prefer watching CNN/SI.”

*

Bragging rights: Bernie Lincicome of the Chicago Tribune, on Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus: “Fusa-ichi is a combination of the Japanese owner’s first name and the Japanese word for ‘No. 1,’ not exactly an illustration of Oriental modesty.

“In English, this is like naming a yacht ‘Big Frankie’s First Mortgage.’ ”

*

Forty fallacy: Laveranues Coles, the Florida State wide receiver who was drafted in the third round by the New York Jets, claims to have been timed in 4.16 seconds for 40 yards.

If so, he’s the fastest man who ever lived.

*

Distinction: Tampa Bay Devil Ray Manager Larry Rothschild: “We have two screwball pitchers as opposed to two pitchers who are screwballs.”

*

Do the math: Houston broadcaster Jim Deshaies, after the Astros and Braves issued a combined 23 walks in Milwaukee: “If this was a walkathon, how much money could we have raised?”

*

Going, going, gone: Jerry Greene in the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel: “Perfect name for the homer-happy St. Louis Cardinals--Yardbirds.”

*

Looking back: On this day in 1970, Bobby Orr’s goal gave Boston its first Stanley Cup in 29 years as the Bruins beat the St. Louis Blues, 4-3, for a four-game sweep.

*

Trivia answer: Rex Chapman of Phoenix, nine, against Seattle on April 25, 1997.

*

And finally: Chicago Cub first baseman Mark Grace, on adjusting to new umpires: “I’ve been rung up on some bad ones this year. I don’t want them to think I’m a whiner or complainer.

“But by the same token, I can’t get rung up by a guy on a pitch eight inches outside and at my shoelaces and not say something. This ain’t Cuba.”