Edwards Wasn’t Happy Just to Get There

Herman Edwards, the former Cal defensive back who is the new coach of the New York Jets, says his objective is simple--to win the Super Bowl.

“I played in a world championship game one time. 1980 [season, with the Philadelphia Eagles]. Lost. Never been back. Close, but never been back. That’s a burning desire I have. To become a world champion. That’s what it’s all about. It’s not about the money, not about the accolades, it’s about putting your name in the stone.

“People can look and say, ‘Hey that’s a world championship team. Who were the guys who played on that team?’ That is what you are remembered by.”

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Trivia time: Who was the last Laker to be named the NBA’s defensive player of the year?

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Surprise, surprise: When David Wells was traded from Toronto to the Chicago White Sox, no one could reach the pitcher to tell him because he was honeymooning in Australia.

So how did Wells learn about it? Tom Arnold, the actor once married to TV’s “Roseanne,” told him. According to the Chicago Tribune, Wells phoned from Australia to ask if Arnold could get him Super Bowl tickets.

After hanging up, Arnold wondered why Wells hadn’t mentioned the trade. He called Wells back and gave him the news.

Wells thought it was a joke . . . until he called his agent.

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Agent needed: After Pittsburgh Penguin owner Mario Lemieux went back to being player Mario Lemieux, the Penguins had 10 consecutive sellouts, increasing their attendance by 8.4%. In his first four road games the increase was 29%.

Lemieux recently announced he had “reached contract terms with myself” and will earn $1.4 million this year.

To which the Toronto Sun’s Al Strachan said, “Mario the player got stiffed by Mario the owner.”

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Wants a ring: Minnesota Viking defensive tackle John Randle was devastated when his team lost in the playoffs and missed a chance at the Super Bowl.

“The clock is ticking in my career,” he told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “It would be nice, just one time, to be in the show. You can see the thing on TV, go there and watch it, but there’s nothing like being in it. To a lot of people, it’s just a game, but to some of us, it’s a career.”

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Big man talk: Tony Siragusa, the Baltimore Raven defensive tackle, says the Super Bowl is “going to be a fun Sunday. It’s just going to be a brawl. Two East Coast teams. You don’t have all this West Coast hokey-pokey, throw-it-down-the-field baloney. It’s old-time football. Strap it on, get dirty and let’s get down to business.”

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Scary thought: On the future of racing in California, Horse Racing Board commissioner Alan Landsberg told Laura Grubb of the Thoroughbred Owners Assn.:

“Some years ago I said that within the next two decades, racing would largely be reduced to being a television studio sport. Right now, we are so dependent on off-track wagering, and that coupled with the fact that the percentage of people who are involved in racing continues to diminish, eventually there will be no need for a huge track.”

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Trivia answer: Michael Cooper, in the 1986-87 season.

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And finally: Laker forward Rick Fox, a former Boston Celtic, told Scott Howard-Cooper of the Sacramento Bee that Larry Bird is what Boston fans need to run the Celtics.

“To them he is the Leprechaun,” Fox said. “They’ve seen him do things, pull many rabbits out of a hat there in Boston. From an energy and a total feel for that city they’re in and their return to believing they’re on the right track, Larry would represent something that would give them hope.”