He Gave Reporters the Royal Treatment

Usually when one thinks of quotable football coaches, Lou Holtz or the late John McKay come to mind. Former Texas coach Darrell Royal ranks high as well. Here are some examples of “Royalisms” from a TV show and videotape, “The Story of Darrell Royal,” narrated by Matthew McConaughey and produced by Richard Hull:

* “We’re gonna dance with who brung us,” after a reporter suggested that Royal make some changes on offense.

* “The sun don’t shine on the same dog’s rear end every day.”

* “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

* “The only place you can win a football game is on the field. The only place you can lose is in your hearts.”

* “There’s a heckuva fight going on out there in the Cotton Bowl, boys. Why don’t you get in on it?” (From halftime speech when Texas trailed Oklahoma at halftime, 7-0. The Longhorns rallied to win, 9-7.)

Trivia time: What World Series set a record for attendance?

Headlines: Over a Peter Vecsey column in the New York Post about Yao Ming being on the verge of signing a 10-year, $75-million deal with Reebok: “Hey, Nike: Yao shoes, you lose.”

It takes time: On Fox’s NFL pregame show Sunday, Terry Bradshaw was trying to make a point that this may be the year for Quincy Carter and the Dallas Cowboys, after three 5-11 seasons.

“Psychiatrists say that after emotional trauma, it takes three years to get over it,” Bradshaw said.

Retorted Howie Long: “We’re on five years and counting with you.”

Caught speeding: Dallas Cowboy receiver Randal Williams was credited with the fastest score to start a game since the NFL began using a scoreboard clock, when he returned Philadelphia’s on-side kick for a touchdown with only three seconds elapsed in Sunday’s game.

Williams say he’s fast, but not that fast. Although officially it took only three seconds, it actually might have taken almost twice as long.

“I watched it a couple of times. I probably took three or four steps before that first tick came off the clock,” Williams said Monday, a day after Dallas’ 23-21 win. “Hey, that’s not my fault. It goes down in the record book.”

That it does. The NFL said the play will not be reviewed and so the record stands, even though replays showed that the clock didn’t start until after Williams took a few steps, at least two seconds.

“Maybe we’ve got a slow hand up there [in the booth],” Cowboy Coach Bill Parcells said.

Trivia answer: 420,784 for the 1959 World Series between the Dodgers and Chicago White Sox, won by the Dodgers in six games. The single-game record is 92,706 for Game 5 of that Series at the Coliseum.

And finally: Sammy Sosa enjoyed all the comforts of home when the Cubs played the Florida Marlins over the weekend. The New York Daily News reported Sosa stayed in a home he owns in Miami -- a 9,100-square-foot penthouse with six bedrooms and an eight-seat theater.

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