Sciarra Is Still Stinging From Losing Name Game

One question remains unanswered in this latest UCLA fiasco. As you know, 20-year-old quarterback John Sciarra was arrested for disorderly conduct, public intoxication and giving a name other than his own to police officers.

So what name did Sciarra give to police officers?

“That’s a good question,” UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero said. “To be honest, he probably doesn’t remember what name he used.”

I’m going to take for granted he didn’t try to pass himself off as Dennis Rodman to the Newport Beach police since it took the police a “few hours” to determine he wasn’t who he said he was.

At the time Sciarra was sitting at No. 3 on the UCLA quarterback depth chart, so I could see him having a tough time deciding whether to tell the cops he was Matt Moore or Drew Olson, and so that’s why I thought he probably went with “Cory Paus,” figuring the cops would have said, “Oh, you again,” and there wouldn’t be much of a fuss.

“Wouldn’t he give the name of someone from a different school?” Guerrero said, and you can see how this guy thinks, but for the record, Guerrero never mentioned Mike Garrett’s name.

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I CALLED Newport Police Lt. John Klein and asked what name Sciarra had given, and he said, “I can confirm for you it was not George Bush.”

I thought it odd that Klein would mention Bush’s name out of the blue, and wondered if maybe the kid had been out partying with the Bush twins, and I was on to something bigger here that might also involve the Bruins and the Secret Service. With the Bruins these days, you never know.

For all I know, the Bush twins might be telling everyone they went out partying with Peter O’Malley before the cops came and hauled him away.

“I need to know the name Sciarra gave the cops,” I said, and Klein replied, “We’re not going to make that information available. I can tell you this, he did not use the name of a real person.”

I find it hard to believe the Newport Beach police would need a few hours to confirm that Sciarra was not Bugs Bunny, but maybe I’m wrong.

“He made up a name,” Klein said. “If he had used the real name of someone that would have been much more serious.”

You can see that the education and training UCLA has been talking about to keep its athletes out of more serious trouble is paying off.

UCLA players, of course, should not be blamed for trying to hide things from their coach. As any parent knows, the kids are just mimicking the adults, and Coach Karl Dorrell has closed Bruin practices to keep everything very hush-hush.

He also has instructed his players not to come clean with the media. In Sciarra’s state, it’s understandable he couldn’t tell the difference between the media and police.

“We had no idea [Sciarra] was a football player at UCLA until a few days ago when a reporter from The Times called and asked about him,” Klein said. “We didn’t know who he was. We don’t pay that much attention to college football.”

That could mean there are another 19 or so UCLA football players who were arrested at one time or another in Newport Beach and we just haven’t heard about them yet.

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FORMER USC football player Petros Papadakis, who appears on “The (1540) Ticket Morning Show Bonus Hour” with Mark Willard, who laughs at everything Papadakis has to say, has become almost mandatory listening.

He’s funny, sharp and smart, and because Papadakis is fresh, young and seemingly free to say anything he wants, he’s also always one second away from saying something that should get him suspended or fired for poor taste.

He tested those limits Wednesday while discussing Sciarra’s alleged drunken behavior in graphic terms and repeating crude language. That, along with a story about a former Trojan teammate and what he did on a plane ride home, are too disgusting to replay here. Willard, however, thought it was hilarious.

Tim Parker, KMPC program director, said, “We actually talked after the show, more about the language he used, and the challenge of saying things in a better way without offending people. We wouldn’t want to change his perspective, because that’s one of the attractive things about him. We’re working on where that line is, and today he was at the line, but I don’t think he went over it too terribly.”

It’d be nice if Willard stopped laughing long enough to rein in his sidekick, and if necessary, protect Papadakis from himself.

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PAPADAKIS, ON how USC’s defense will play against Hawaii’s touted quarterback, Timmy Chang: “USC is going to come after him with everything but the kitchen sink.” OK, so he’s not always fresh -- unless he can tell me why defenses always leave the kitchen sink behind.

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THERE IS a difference. Shav Glick is our auto racing writer who spends most of his time playing golf, and recently he came within one stroke of shooting his age -- 82, firing an 83 at Goose Creek. Bill Dwyre is our sports editor who spends most of his time playing golf, and recently came within two strokes -- give or take -- of shooting how old people think he looks, posting a career-best 86 at Red Hill.

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TODAY’S LAST word comes in an e-mail from Peter Leslie:

“Now that Andy Ashby appears to be mercifully done, it’s time to take a final tally of what has to be one of the worst signings in the history of this franchise. This is what the Dodgers got in return: $84,586 per inning; $145,161 per strikeout; and best of all, $1,607,143 per win.”

The memories, though, are priceless.

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T.J. Simers can be reached at t.j.simers@latimes.com.