Long Drives Are in Store for at Least One Trojan

TBS sideline reporter Erin Andrews said during Saturday’s USC-Arizona telecast that Trojan sophomore receiver Mike Williams, who is from Tampa, Fla., had told former Trojan Keyshawn Johnson that he wasn’t crazy about living in L.A.

Said Andrews: “Keyshawn said, ‘You know what, I don’t like living in Tampa, but the thing is once football starts you’ll forget about where you live and become focused on your sport.’

“But Mike confided in me that he still doesn’t like driving 30 minutes to a grocery store.”

Looking for new digs: According to the St. Petersburg Times, Johnson may not like Tampa this time of year, either. The newspaper reported last week that his Tampa-area home is on the market for $1.89 million.

Johnson may be unhappy about how he is being utilized by the Buccaneers, as his agent has implied. Johnson, limited to three catches Sunday, has 20 in his last five games.

“Can’t a man sell his house?” Johnson was quoted as saying.

One more thing: Andrews said Williams told her: “I don’t know why people compare me to Keyshawn. I’m a lot bigger, I’m a lot faster.”

Trivia time: There’s an old football saying, “He who lives by the pass, dies by the pass.” Who is generally credited with originating it?

Plugs everywhere: Announcers more and more are working sponsors’ names into telecasts. Did you hear Ron Thulin on TBS Saturday, after Williams’ third touchdown catch against Arizona?

“Mike Williams went to Home Depot, bought a ladder and went to the top to get that one.”

Ice try: The late Jack Kent Cooke, when he owned the Kings, once suggested to Bob Miller that, to appease an auto sponsor, he might regularly say things such as, “There goes Marcel Dionne scooting down the ice like a Datsun.”

Miller wisely told Cooke: “I couldn’t imagine ever saying anything like that even once.”

And then this: Fox on Sunday showed a clip of Brett Favre and NASCAR champion Matt Kenseth signing each other’s helmets. Why? Because it served as a lead-in to a promo that NASCAR was returning to Fox in February.

Tarnished glory: This should be a big week for former USC running back turned broadcaster Petros Papadakis, except for one thing. When he appears on Fox Sports Net’s “Southern California Sports Report” he will be dyeing his hair blue and wearing a UCLA jersey. That’s because he lost to former UCLA quarterback Matt Stevens in picking Pacific 10 Conference games.

“A 3-year-old could have beaten Petros,” Stevens said.

Trivia answer: Former UCLA coach Red Sanders. (Note: The Bruins passed 49 times Saturday in a 31-13 loss to Oregon.)

And finally: From Channel 9’s Alan Massengale: “The fact that over 5% of major leaguers have tested positive for steroids is the biggest non-surprise in baseball since the Cubs and Red Sox blew it in the playoffs.”

Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.