When All Else Fails, Blame It on Irish

Sean Keeler of the Des Moines Register on Carson Palmer’s beating out Brad Banks for the Heisman Trophy:

“Just when you thought there was no way Iowa would see payback from Notre Dame for that bowl championship series snub, along comes Carson Palmer.

“Now Palmer had a stupendous season, throwing for 3,639 yards and 32 touchdowns. He is, hands down, the best senior drop-back passer at the major college level. He’s Drew Bledsoe II. The man could start for the Chicago Bears right now. Not saying he’d want to. Just that he could.

“None of this was what put Palmer over the top when the Heisman voting was revealed Saturday night.

“It was one game. One night. One opponent.

“It was Notre Dame.

“ ‘It helped me, no question,’ Palmer said. ‘I think that if Brad would have still been playing when I played against Notre Dame, I think he might have won it.’ ”

Trivia time: Dan Marino is the NFL’s all-time leader in yards passing (61,361) and touchdown passes (420). Who is the leader in passing efficiency?

Fashion critic: Former NFL receiver Michael Irvin, who once was a Cowboy, usually dresses in something resembling pajamas. This was particularly the case with a blue jump suit he wore on Fox Sports Net’s “Best Damn Sports Show Period” last week.

Said ventriloquist Jeff Dunham’s grumpy sidekick, Walter: “You look like you’re going to Michael Jackson’s sleepover again.”

Hangers-on haven: “Instead of a ritzy hotel, the U.S. Olympic basketball team of NBA players will stay in the Athletes Village for the 2004 Olympic Games in Greece,” wrote Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune. “Apparently Athens officials also agreed to build a Posse Village.”

His scoop: The Miami Dolphins’ Ricky Williams, on why he started his Web site, www.run-ricky-run.com: “My fans didn’t have a realistic view of who I was as a person and an athlete. I thought that if I didn’t have to go through the media and they can get it straight from me, they’d get a better picture of Ricky.”

On the bright side: “The mayor of New York City is telling New Yorkers to prepare for the worst in anticipation of a transit strike,” comedian Jerry Perisho told the San Francisco Chronicle. “It will really be a blessing in disguise. The strike will make it virtually impossible to get to a Knick game.”

Tough task: An ESPN.com contest asks fans to pick the winners of all the bowl games. Says Chronicle reader Janice Hough: “I think the contest would be difficult enough just asking fans to name all the bowl games.”

Trivia answer: Steve Young, with an efficiency rating of 96.8. Joe Montana is second at 92.3 and Marino third at 86.4.

And finally: When the Washington men’s basketball program was first accused of NCAA recruiting violations, Athletic Director Barbara Hedges said opposing coaches should follow “protocol” and call her first if they see Husky players breaking rules.

Noted John Blanchette of the Spokane Spokesman-Review: “Apparently, the next time we see a convenience store being jacked up, we’re supposed to call the robber’s parents.”