This Chief Executive Isn’t Too Popular

Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post, criticizing the decisions made by the Redskins’ Marty Schottenheimer: “If you want Exhibit A as to why no man should be head coach and general manager, the firing of [quarterback] Jeff George is all the evidence you need.... George doesn’t have the skills, the instincts, the background or discipline to execute a short, controlled passing game....

“Yet Schottenheimer tried to jam a round peg into a square hole. He tried to make P. Diddy into Frank Sinatra.... Schottenheimer, a man who fashioned a successful career from his expertise in defense and special teams, is so far a lousy general manager and he isn’t much of an offensive coach either.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the record for playing in the most World Series?

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Worth repeating: Jim Armstrong in the Denver Post: “Said it before and I’ll say it again. If/when Bob Davie gets the ax at Notre Dame, Jon Gruden gets the job.

“Speaking of Gruden, how can he spend 18 hours a day in the film room and still have sun-bleached hair and a permanent tan?”

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Don’t do it, Mike: Bob Cousy, the hall of fame guard with the Boston Celtics who retired in 1963, made a 34-minute comeback six years later at age 41 as player-coach of the Cincinnati Royals before re-retiring.

Commenting on Michael Jordan’s comeback, Cousy said: “[He] is going to see pressure that he’s never felt before in his life. The more pressure that is put on him, the harder he will try, and the harder he tries at 38, my guess is he’s going to come down with hamstring problems, quads, Achilles’.”

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More on Jordan: Dale Hoffman of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: “The best he can be is the athletic version of the returning rock star, The Athlete Formerly Known as Jordan.”

And this from comedian Argus Hamilton in the San Francisco Chronicle, saying Jordan came back for political reasons: “President Bush asked Americans to start traveling again, and Michael Jordan never takes less than three steps with the ball.”

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Money therapy: Shannon Sharpe, who played 10 seasons with the Broncos, returns to Denver today as a Baltimore Raven.

Asked how long it took him to get over leaving Denver, the tight end replied: “Once I saw the check the day I signed, it was real easy.”

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Bound to happen: New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Yankee fan, told David Letterman on “The Late Show” about the applause he received at a Met game. Said the mayor: “I’ll know things get back to normal when they start booing me again.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1927, Babe Ruth broke his own single-season record when he hit home run No. 60 off Washington left-hander Tom Zachary.

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Trivia answer: Yogi Berra, 14, followed by Mickey Mantle, 12, and Whitey Ford, 11.

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And finally: Rick Morrissey in the Chicago Tribune, on the Cubs’ slide in the National League Central: “The Cubs shouldn’t have been in first place in the first place. This was an average team that caught some lightning and plugged into it until the lights went out.

“Now it’s dark, and you can see the Cubs for what they really were. Enjoy the memory of the ride and not the pain of the ending.”