Here’s Someone Who Likes What Miller Has to Say

Don Ohlmeyer, producer of “Monday Night Football,” defended off-the-wall commentator Dennis Miller in an interview with Leonard Shapiro of the Washington Post:

“His strong suit is that he looks at life a little askew. In football, you are confronted with the obvious. It’s not like we’re analyzing a nuclear reaction or open heart surgery.

“How many times have you heard people say how fast the St. Louis Rams are? He said the Rams don’t need a ball, they need a baton. It’s a wonderful way to say speed.

“Television is constantly being criticized for pandering to the lowest common denominator. He’s criticized for not pandering to the lowest common denominator.”

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Trivia time: When did the Los Angeles Rams first appear on “Monday Night Football”?

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Parallel lives: Bernie Lincicome in the Rocky Mountain News: “The International Olympic Committee refers to itself as an Olympic ‘family’ with much the same authority as Charles Manson referred to his collection of misfits the same way.”

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Same guy? Larry Merchant in a 1968 column in the New York Post on Knick player Phil Jackson shows a different side of the Laker coach than we know now:

“Among the Knicks, Jackson has earned a reputation as a flake, as mindless off the court as he seems on it. They call him ‘Left-hander’ and ‘Head and Shoulders’ and ‘Absent-Minded Professor.’ ”

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Solution: Former Notre Dame end Leon Hart couldn’t decide which of his six children should get his 1949 Heisman Trophy. So he’s putting up the trophy for auction.

“It’s easier to do it this way than to flip a coin and make five of them unhappy. It’s easier to split revenue than to split the trophy.”

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Guessing game: From reader George Kiseda, relaying an old Bob Knight quote about teaching a class on coaching techniques: “I have 80 to 100 kids. I’d say one-third are girls. I think most of the rest are boys. You can never be sure on a college campus.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1977, Ted Turner skippered Courageous to its fourth straight win over Australia as the United States successfully defended the America’s Cup.

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Trivia answer: 1970, the first year of the series. The Rams lost to the Vikings, 13-3, at Minnesota.

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And finally: Craig Kilborn, host of the “The Late Late Show” on CBS: “A new Jersey soccer game between 8- and 9-year-old boys ended in a brawl among parents after a disagreement over where the coach was standing.

“The parents said the brawl was all part of a plan to teach their kids how to play soccer like Europeans.”